Against All Odds
by SofiaSofiaSofia
Summary: When Callie and Arizona started planning for a second child, they were nervous. After all, Sofia's first few months had been incredibly scary. However, now that a new baby is on the way, they are trying to set aside these illogical fears. Sofia's new sibling will be just fine, right? Longer summary inside.
1. Bad Dreams, Bad Dreams, Go Away

**I've been working on this story for a few weeks and I finally decided that I need to post it. For those of you that are reading my other story, "I Wanna Grow Old With You," I _will_****be** **updating both. That one will not end because this one is starting. :)  
**

**This story is set a few years into the future. There was never a plane crash, nor did anybody leave, so everyone we're used to is still around. Relationships have obviously made progress.  
**

**When Callie and Arizona started planning for a second child, they were nervous. After all, Sofia's first few months had been incredibly scary. However, now that a new baby is on the way, they are trying to set aside these illogical fears. Sofia's sibling will be just fine, right? What happened to Callie and Sofia simply won't happen to Arizona and this new baby. Still, they can't help but worry. Is there a whole new reason for the anxiety they've been feeling in regards to this little life?**

* * *

"You've been quiet tonight, Sweet Girl," Arizona told four-year-old Sofia as they ate dinner one night.

"Everything okay?" Callie asked.

She had made the same observation. Usually, their daughter always had something she wanted to say or a series of questions to ask. In fact, the only not-so-good thing that her preschool teacher had to say about her was that she was often talking out of turn. They were trying to teach their girl that she had to listen as well, but secretly, they were thrilled to have a little chatterbox. It was even more proof that Sofia's prematurity still wasn't slowing her down in the least.

Dinners without a long speech about the toys she played with, the friends she was making, and how pretty her latest craft was were rare, but so far tonight, Sofia had just been taking it all in as her moms had a conversation about their second child, who Arizona was now thirteen weeks pregnant with.

"Yeah," she said.

"I'm sorry," Arizona replied, realizing what the problem may have been. "We're talking about Baby too much, aren't we?"

The original plan hadn't even been to tell Sofia about the new baby until Arizona's first trimester was over, since the risk of miscarriage was highest then and they didn't want to take the chance of putting their daughter through that loss. However, they were bursting with excitement and they had let the news slip a few weeks ago, when Arizona still had two weeks left of the first trimester. Now that it was over, they were glad that their girl had had a couple weeks already to adjust to the news. It was nice to get to talk about the baby with her, but they were still careful not to overdo it.

"No," she said, taking another bite of her pasta.

Sofia had become a big sister last year when Mark and Lexie, who were now husband and wife, had a son named Maxwell. She had displayed a few signs of jealousy then – even though she loved her brother – so Callie and Arizona were trying to remind her that she was still just as special to them.

The moms were relieved to hear that Sofia didn't mind all the baby talk, but they still didn't understand.

"Then what's wrong?" Callie asked.

"Mommy, I don't think you really have a baby in your belly," she told her. "When Max was in Lexie's tummy, it wasn't very skinny, but you're still skinny."

Arizona had begun to gain some weight, but she was only up a few pounds so far. To Sofia, babies meant big, round bellies.

"Well, it takes awhile for a baby to grow," Arizona explained. "Right now, our new baby's still pretty tiny. Remember that picture we showed you when we told you about it?"

"Yeah," she said, looking over at her Madre, as if to suggest that Mommy still didn't make any sense. "It didn't look like a baby."

"That picture was taken when Baby'd only been in my belly for a little while, but he or she is slowly, slowly, slowly starting to get bigger. It's about the size of a peach this week."

"It looks like a peach?" she asked. "It's 'posed to look like a baby."

"It will," Callie laughed. "But remember how long it took for Max to grow in Lexie's belly?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Too long."

"Well, this baby'll take that long, too," she said. "Sorry."

"Oh, man!" she exclaimed, with a mouthful of pasta. "I have to wait so much then!"

"Yep," Arizona said. "But my belly'll start getting big as Baby grows some more."

"Good."

"In three more weeks, we'll get another picture of Baby," Callie told Sofia. "You'll see that it's growing."

"Okay," she said, still talking with her mouth full.

"Sof, close your mouth when you chew, please," Arizona reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "This is good dinner."

"Mouth closed," Callie laughed at how quickly she had forgotten again.

"But I wanna stay some stuff."

"Chew and swallow first," Arizona said. "But yes, it is a good dinner. Baby's been making me want pasta all day."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"When you were in my belly, I wanted peanut butter sandwiches," Callie told her. "Is that why you like them so much?"

When they first started trying to conceive this baby, Callie was going to be the one to carry it. However, after four unsuccessful IUI attempts, they had decided that Arizona should try. At first, Callie was a little upset since she wanted to experience a second pregnancy, but now she was glad. Now that Arizona had first-hand experience of pregnancy, it had become one more thing that bonded them as moms. She also loved getting to pamper her wife this time around.

"They're the best," Sofia nodded. "I wanna eat one for lunch tomorrow, okay?"

"You'll have to ask Daddy and Lexie. Mommy and I have to work tomorrow."

"Okay," she said. "Mommy…?"

"What?" Arizona smiled.

"Is Baby a boy or a girl?"

"Oh, we won't know until it's born," Arizona told her. "It's a surprise."

"I need a baby sister," she said.

"But brothers are fun too, right?" Callie asked.

"Yeah."

"What do you think we should name the baby?" Arizona questioned.

She and Callie were already disagreeing over names. Arizona wanted a slightly less popular name for this baby, since Sofia had the same name as two other girls at her school, and because their little girl's name was often misspelled for the more popular S-O-P-H-I-A spelling. Callie didn't really think these factors were a big deal, as long as they were in love with the names they decided on.

"I like the name Paisley."

"You do, do you?" Arizona asked.

"That's my friend," she told them. "And my boy friend is Lachlan."

"You have a boyfriend?" Callie teased. "Sofia Robbin Sloan!"

"He's just my buddy!" she giggled at the use of her middle names, as if she were in trouble even though she knew she wasn't. "We don't hold hands and kiss or nothin'."

"Good."

"And I don't kiss no girls either."

"No kissin' until you're married, 'kay?" Arizona smiled.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Good girl."

* * *

"So, what are you, Daddy, Lexie, and Max gonna do today?" Callie asked early the next morning – a Saturday – as she did Sofia's hair.

The sun was shining through the window, proving that it was going to be a nice day outside. Unfortunately, they wouldn't get to spend most of it with her because they'd be in and out of the OR, but Callie hoped that Mark was intending to take advantage of the weather in order to get out some of Sofia's seemingly endless energy.

"Tell Daddy to get me and Max a puppy," Sofia said.

Callie and Arizona had always planned to get a dog, but they had only moved to a big enough house a few months before they had started trying to get pregnant. They had just finished all of their decorating and now they just didn't want to still be training a puppy while taking care of a newborn and his or her big sister. Waiting until their new baby had been home for awhile seemed like the best idea.

"I see," she smiled. "You're so funny."

"I try to teach Max to say 'puppy.'"

"Does he?"

"Not yet."

"Oh."

Callie heard Arizona stop in the doorway. "Good morning," she smiled, taking in the sight of her pregnant wife, even though her robe concealed her ever so slightly changing body. Arizona was still radiant.

"Good morning," she said.

"Mommy, you sleep in lots," Sofia commented. "You make better braids then Madre."

"What's wrong with my braids?" Callie asked.

"They're just not like Mommy braids," she said. "And Mommy sleeps in so now I get lots of Madre braids."

"The baby makes me really sleepy," Arizona explained as her little girl came over and hugged her. "But I'm awake now. Can I finish your braids?"

"Sure."

"Then I wanna talk to Madre, okay?"

"Then play with me?"

"I hope so," she said. "But we'll see if I have time before Daddy picks you up."

Callie hadn't thought much of it until Arizona said that. In fact, she had actually assumed that their "talk" would be more like a decidedly quiet – and unfortunately quick - special moment in the bedroom, since Arizona seemed to be in the mood more often nowadays. However, now she knew something else was going on. Neither of them would ever sacrifice playtime with Sofia in favour of sex, even if it was so great lately.

"Everything okay?" the Latina asked.

"I just had a not so good dream last night," she answered.

"Bad dreams, bad dreams, go away," Sofia said. "Right Mommy?"

"Yeah. Right."

"And sometimes Daddy scares away monsters," she added. "He can help when he picks me up."

"That's okay," Arizona said, forcing a smile. "My dream didn't have monsters."

"Why don't you go decide what you want for breakfast?" Callie asked. "I'll come make it for you in a minute."

"What about my braids?"

"I'll redo them after we eat," Arizona told her.

"Okay," Sofia said as she headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Callie got up and went and stood in the doorway with her wife. "What's wrong?" she asked as she kissed her.

"I dreamed that something was wrong with the baby," Arizona said, with tears now forming in her eyes. "I don't know what, but…"

"Well, what happened?" she asked.

"I woke up before I knew if it made it," she said. "Or even if it was a boy or a girl."

"I'm sure everything's fine," Callie said. "There hasn't been any logical reason to think otherwise and pregnancy can cause crazy dreams."

Both parents had been a little nervous going into this pregnancy, so this feeling wasn't very surprising at all. Even though there was absolutely no reason to worry about it this time around, they couldn't stop reflecting on Sofia's prematurity and the problems that she had faced at birth. The fact that they could actually have a perfectly healthy baby after having such a sick one seemed a little unreal. It almost felt too easy after the things that the first few months of parenting Sofia had put them through. However, everything appeared to be just fine with this baby, which encouraged them to try to block out the fearful thoughts.

"That must be it," she decided. "But it just felt so, so real."

"In a few weeks, we'll get to see our perfectly healthy baby again," she smiled. "You'll see."

"I know."

"But I'm glad you told me," she said.

"You're probably right," she told her. "Baby's okay."

"We could just get an ultrasound done now, you know."

"I'm not having a miscarriage and another ultrasound scan wouldn't show anything different just yet. Baby's still too small. Even having another one when we are is considered to be on the early side."

"Yeah."

"Maybe I will just check out the heartbeat with a Doppler today, though. To put my mind at ease."

"Hearing baby's heartbeat would be nice," Callie agreed. "We can never get enough of that."


	2. Something's Not Right

"Doesn't she realize it's five a.m.?" Arizona asked as they heard Sofia's tiny footsteps slowly moving towards their room. "She's making me feel like an intern again."

Lately, Sofia had been getting up far too early for school. Of course, her moms knew that many parents had the opposite problem, but they were still wishing that she'd become just a _little_ less anxious to go to school. They were glad she liked it, but they had also gotten used to not having to be up quite as early. On the weekday mornings that they had Sofia with them, they didn't start work until eight o'clock, since they weren't able to drop their girl off until seven thirty. They were thankful to have an understanding chief and even more thankful for the extra hour of sleep that this should have afforded them. Yet, here they were, about to rise before the sun even had.

"Unfortunately, no," Callie replied.

"Neither one of your children like me very much right now," Arizona decided, as her hand brushed against Callie's while they both rubbed her bump.

At sixteen weeks, she still wasn't very big, but she was starting to show. As long as she wasn't wearing her lab coat and scrubs, people could tell that there was a baby on the way now. Yesterday, she had also been able to feel Baby's first little fluttery movements. This, combined with the few times that she helped herself to a Doppler in order to hear Baby's beating heart, had helped to reassure her and her wife. Today was the day of her second ultrasound and they were fully expecting good news.

"Why are they my children today?"

"Because Sofia's going to make me get out of bed and the baby's making me nauseous. Morning sickness is supposed to end after the first trimester. Doesn't he know that?"

"First of all, stop saying 'he,'" Callie said. "Just because the heart rate's been on the lower side doesn't mean it's a boy. That's not always accurate."

"I know," she said. "I just think it's a boy. I can't help it. 'He' just comes out sometimes."

Callie smiled. "Okay. And apparently you're just one of those women who gets morning sickness for awhile."

"Hopefully not the whole pregnancy," Arizona said.

They could now tell that Sofia was outside of their bedroom door. She knew that she probably shouldn't enter, but she was wide awake and bored. None of the toys or books she had were nearly as fun as morning cuddles with Madre and Mommy.

"Good morning, Sofia," she smiled.

"Hi," she said, pushing the door open. "When is school?"

"The same time as every other day," Callie answered. "You'll be there in two and a half hours."

"I think you might need a later bedtime," Arizona said as the little girl climbed up into their bed. "What do you think?"

"Okay!" she giggled.

Callie kissed her mini-me. "Guess what, Mija?" she asked.

"Today you get to go see the baby!" she answered, knowing this because they had been counting down the days.

"Yep," Arizona nodded. "We'll show you pictures later, okay?"

"I should go see too."

"We have to go to work right from the doctor's office," Callie said. "And you'll already be at school."

Today, they were starting their shifts even later, due to the ultrasound. They doubted that Owen was thrilled about this, but it was the earliest appointment they could get and it was obviously important to make sure everything was right on track with their little one.

"Oh."

"But hopefully Baby lets the doctor take really good pictures."

"I think she will," Sofia said, laying down in between them and resting her hand on Arizona's belly. "Right, Baby?"

"Mommy's been saying 'he', you're saying 'she.' What are you two going to do if you're wrong?"

"One of us is right," Arizona said.

"Yeah," Sofia said. "One of us gots to be right. There's only two kinds."

"But whatever it is, it doesn't matter, right?" Callie asked her. "I know you're hoping for a sister, but a brother would be fun too."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Max is fun. I teached him how to dance yesterday."

"We know," Arizona smiled. "Dad sent us a video on our phones."

"Why?"

"Because it was super cute," she said. "Like you always are."

"Mommy!" she replied. "I'm big now. I'm not cute."

"You're still pretty cute," Callie replied.

"Hate to break it to you," Arizona added.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sofia said. "Could we get up now?"

"Not yet," Callie replied, handing over the remote control. "Put something on the TV, okay?"

"Yay!"

"And be a little less loud," Arizona said.

"Yeah," she whispered. "But I want it to be time for school."

"You really like school, don't you?"

"I can print my whole name," she said. "S-O-F-I-A."

"Right," Callie smiled. "How about your last name?"

"I just put Sofia T.," she said. "And Sophia H. puts Sophia H. But her letters aren't the same."

"We know," Arizona replied. "But do you know what letters are in Torres?"

"A T and…I don't know the other ones."

"T-O-R-R-E-S."

"Okay."

"Are you going to practice that?" Arizona asked.

"Mrs. Lane will think I'm so smart," she smiled. "I'll try hard, Mommy."

"Sounds good."

Arizona felt the baby's first movements of the day. It was still too soon for Callie and Sofia to be able to feel them externally, but they liked to know when it was happening anyway.

"Baby's awake, too," Arizona told Sofia.

The big sister kissed Mommy's belly. "Hi Baby. I will try to print Torres and you can try to let the doctor take your picture, okay?"

"It's a deal, I think," she smiled.

* * *

"How've you been feeling?" Dr. Bowden asked Arizona a little later that morning.

After the way that Lucy had handled – or rather hadn't been able to handle – the events surrounding Sofia's birth, Callie and Arizona had decided to look for a new obstetrician this time around. They found Dr. Kelly Bowden, and they were impressed with her. She made them feel comfortable, and she was good at her job.

"Still nauseous," Arizona answered. "Almost every day. But other than that, good."

"No other concerns?" she smiled. "Great."

"We've been a little worried," Callie said, even though there wasn't much credibility to a dream or a feeling.

The doctor in her knew that mentioning this was ridiculous, but the mom in her couldn't help but bring it up for some reason. It came out of her mouth before she could even think twice about it.

"About…?" she asked.

"I had a dream a few weeks ago," Arizona explained. "That something, I don't even know what, happened to the baby. I knew I wasn't miscarrying or anything like that, but just to be sure, I did check the heartbeat at work a few times. It was there and everything was fine. We're probably just nervous because of everything we went through with Sofia. Even though there's no reason –"

"No," she said. "Putting your mind at ease is good. The less stress, the better. It might seem a little silly because it was a dream, but sometimes they can feel real and you're not the first patient I've had get a little nervous over a feeling. No big deal."

"Yeah," Arizona replied. "Oh, and I've been feeling Baby move. Only a few times so far, but definitely movement."

She smiled. "That's exciting."

After doing a few standard things, she had Arizona lay back so that she could do the ultrasound. She was simply doing a few quick measurements first, so the screen was facing towards her. Callie and Arizona both felt like kids on Christmas morning, hoping it wouldn't take too long so that they could see their baby soon.

"This is a pretty active little one," Dr. Bowden smiled. "I'm not surprised that you feel movement already."

"Speaking of surprises, we don't want to know the sex," Arizona said.

"Okay."

"We didn't find out with Sofia, but we didn't exactly get the happy surprise we were supposed to either," Callie said. "So this time, we're looking forward to that."

She smiled. "I found out for my first. I couldn't wait. But I didn't know for my second or third and guessing all of that time was so much fun."

"Yeah."

They noticed the friendly small talk come to a sudden end as Dr. Bowden's eyes narrowed onto the screen and she kept the probe over the same spot on Arizona's abdomen.

"Everything okay?" Callie asked.

"I'm not trying to keep you in the dark," she said. "I just want to be absolutely sure before I say something."

Arizona bit her lip, trying not to tear up. Maybe whatever Dr. Bowden was seeing was wrong. Maybe everything would be fine. Still, the tears came. Callie gave her hand a soft squeeze, not sure what else she should do or say.

"First of all," Dr. Bowden said, as she turned the screen around. "There's your baby."

"But something's not right," Callie replied.

Dr. Bowden showed them a clearer shot of the baby's heart. "At sixteen weeks, I'd expect the left ventricle and the aorta to be more developed than your baby's are," she said, knowing that the two surgeons would rather her come right out and say it instead of dancing around the sensitive topic. "I know you're having your ultrasound a little on the early side since your first one was early too, but it's still concerning me, even if I take that into consideration."

"So, you're saying…?" Callie asked.

She may have been a doctor, but she couldn't process her own thoughts right now. All she knew was that there was something wrong with one of their child's most vital organs. The hot tears were flowing down her cheeks now as she tried to place both a diagnosis and an outcome that might fit.

"Hypoplastic left heart syndrome," Arizona said. "Right?"

"I'm not a specialist, but that's what I'm seeing," she nodded, passing them a box of tissues.

This meant that the baby's heart was developing in an abnormal way that would not allow his or her blood to be properly pumped through their body. The right side of the heart – which was the healthy, normally developing side – had to work much harder since the left side wasn't doing what it was supposed to. This was a very difficult malformation to treat, meaning that there were absolutely no guarantees.

"What do we do about it?" Callie asked.

"The first thing I'm going to do is refer Arizona to a specialist as soon as I can get her an appointment," she said. "I don't want to get too specific because I honestly can't say exactly how severe this is. But typically, medication and surgery are the course of treatment. Without treatment –"

"The baby won't survive," Arizona said, looking over at her wife and completely melting into a mess of tears.

"With treatment, survival rates are increasing," Dr. Bowden said. "Most patients have three stages of surgery. The survival rate for the first stage is about seventy-five percent, according to a study a colleague of mine showed be a few months ago."

"And for the other stages?" Callie asked, barely able to get out her words.

"How about I give you a minute?" Dr. Bowden asked, knowing that they were being bombarded with horrible information.

"And for the other stages?" Callie repeated.

"It depends on other factors," she explained. "How severe your baby's particular case is, whether or not the baby has other medical problems…"

Some babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome also had additional disorders in combination with the heart defect.

"Which an amnio can rule out, right?" Arizona asked, still crying, but trying to pull it together long enough so that she could ask what she needed to know in order to do what was best for the baby.

She was somehow able to snap in and out of doctor mode. One second, she would remember that they were talking about the baby that was growing inside of her and the next it would seem like any other patient. She suspected that this would become rather common now. However, she still had questions that she knew she knew the answer to racing through her mind.

"Right," the doctor nodded. "We'll schedule one soon if you want. Some people elect not to have one because of the risks, but –"

"We want one," she told her. "We know the risks, but we need to know everything."

"If the baby has something else, too…?" Callie asked, now just staring at the tiny malformed heart that was on the screen.

"Then things get a little more complicated," Dr. Bowden explained.

"That's what I was afraid of."

"And the specialist will do a fetal echocardiogram as well. That, combined with the amnio results, will give you a much better idea of what you're facing. You'll be given options for surgery or…"

"Yeah," Arizona said, not even wanting to hear about the ominous choice that Dr. Bowden may have been alluding to. It felt impossible to take right now.

Callie's stomach churned and she was sure that her wife's was doing the same. They had expected to be "oooing" and "awing" over their baby's little hands and perfect nose right about now, but instead they were hearing about very upsetting options that she never thought they'd have to think about.

"There are plenty of steps in between where we are and possibly making that decision," Dr. Bowden explained. "I'll do everything I can do to set you up with the best specialist I know. His name is Dr. Brady."

"He works out of Seattle Grace Mercy West from time to time," Arizona said of the Pediatric Cardiologist. "I know him."

"Okay," she replied. "He'll do a much more detailed sonogram than I can do and then he'll be able to give you a prognosis. We'll work together to decide how to treat you for the rest of your pregnancy, and then he'll take over after birth."

"And if it's really bad?" Callie asked. "Can a baby _that_ sick make it through three procedures?"

"The three are done throughout childhood, usually," she said. "Only the first stage is soon after birth."

"Okay."

"And in some cases, heart transplants are required."

"Oh."

"I want to show you something else," she said, moving up so that they could see their little one's profile and part of its neck up close. "See the nuchal fold?"

"Yeah," Arizona nodded.

In all unborn babies, there was a buildup of fluid here that would slowly keep decreasing as the fetus developed in utero. In babies with some of the issues that Arizona's amniocentesis may detect, this buildup was usually quite large, indicating a problem of some kind.

"It's not very big," she explained. "Which is a hopeful sign. I can't tell you that it means there aren't additional problems. Only the amnio can say for sure. But it is a better sign."

"And if there are no other concerns, that makes treating the heart less complicated?" Callie asked.

"Yes," she said. "I wish I had better news for you, I really do. But that's about as good as I can do for today."

"Could that be why the heart rate's been slower?" Arizona asked. "Yeah, right? I didn't think anything of it, but now…"

"Yes," she nodded. "But right now, as long as this is the only complication, the baby's okay. The connection between the right and left ventricles is still open. In most babies, we want it to close after birth, but in your baby's case, the cardiologist is going to keep it open, so that your baby has at least some cardiac function."

"Right."

"Go home," she told them. "Let this all sink in. But please feel free to call me if you have questions."

"Thank you," Callie said.

"Are you going to be okay to get home?"

"We can call somebody," Callie decided.

"Okay."

* * *

Callie and Arizona had two choices. They could either sit around and cry until their little one was born, or they could begin doing everything possible to get prepared for such a sick baby. Of course, they were still in shock and it didn't really seem like they were talking about _their _baby, but they still chose option B. They were surgeons and surgeons liked to fix things. They may not have been able to be the ones to fix their baby's heart, but they could make sure that someone could, and that they knew everything possible about the diagnosis and its treatment.

Therefore, they decided to call Teddy to come pick them up. She warned them that she couldn't give them specifics until they had more information about their baby's particular case, but she did give them the facts and advice that she could.

"Unfortunately, we don't know much about the long-term prognosis," she told them as they sat on the couch back at the house. "Babies and children with this particular defect couldn't be treated successfully up until about thirty years ago. So, beyond age thirty, we don't know what happens to them. They might be fine, or they might be likely to start having more problems."

"Can a person with this lead a normal life?" Callie asked.

"Depends on the patient," Teddy said. "I've seen some who are active and manage their symptoms well, and then I've seen others who really need to limit their activity."

"Right now, we just have to hope that Baby doesn't have some other diagnosis on top of the hypoplastic left heart syndrome," Arizona said. "It's bad either way, but compiling something else on top of it would be worse."

"Yeah," Teddy said. "Keep in mind that I'm also not a Pediatric Cardiologist. I'm not nearly as experienced in the specifics."

"Right," Callie nodded.

Arizona had told her that she had seen a few cases like the baby's before, but now that she was Mom, it was still overwhelming and she was having trouble sorting out her thoughts.

Teddy's pager went off. "Go," Arizona told her. "We're okay."

"Really?" she asked. "I can –"

"Go," she said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime," she replied, giving her friend a hug. "Though, I hope you get news that's a little easier to take at your next few appointments."

"So do I," she nodded. "It doesn't feel real yet."

"It probably won't for awhile," she said, thinking back to the only similar event in her past – the day she found out that her husband had died. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll tell Owen what's going on," she said.

"Can you make sure the whole hospital doesn't find out, though?" Callie asked. "Word spreads so fast around there and I don't know about her, but I don't want to go back to work and get pity. We're still having a baby. It's…horribly different then this whole thing should be, but I don't want people acting like our kid's already –"

"Yeah," Arizona nodded.

"Okay," Teddy agreed. "I'll do my best."

"Thanks," Arizona said.

"Can you tell Mark and Lexie to pick Sofia up from school today?" Callie asked. "I…can't."

"No problem," Teddy nodded.

"And tell them what's going on," she said. "Because I know Mark'll call right away and I don't want to have to say it all again. Plus, we promised Sofia that she could see ultrasound pictures, so he's going to have to stall her somehow."

"She still can," Arizona said. "This is still her brother or sister. Even if –"

"But we can't pretend everything's fine either," Callie said. "Because we aren't going to get to bring home a perfectly healthy baby. We have to figure out how to explain this to her. Which is impossible since we don't even know for sure what's going to happen and the pregnancy alone is something she has a bit of a tough time grasping the idea of. Let alone..."

"You'll figure it out," Teddy said. "All of it. What to tell Sofia, what to do for the baby…you'll do what's best. Your kids are so lucky to have you."

"We just want to have both of them," Arizona said, as she started crying again. "To think I never wanted kids is just…then Sofia almost…and now this baby..."

"This isn't your fault," Callie assured her.

"Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is hereditary," she said. "And the donor's profile said that his sperm was used in six other healthy pregnancies. Meaning…I probably did this!" she sobbed.

"You did _not_ do this," Callie said. "There was no way of knowing, Arizona. It's not your fault."

"It feels like it is."

"Well, it's not."

* * *

"Daddy picked me up today," Sofia told her moms as they sat on the couch together that night.

"We know," Callie said. "That was a nice surprise, huh?"

"But I wanted to see Baby's pictures."

Arizona got up and went to get them, leaving the one that showed the heart defect behind. Sofia didn't need to see that and, to be honest, they didn't want to keep looking at it right now either.

"Mommy's getting them," Callie promised. "But we've got to tell you something first."

"Something like a surprise?" she smiled.

"Not this time," she said, trying everything she could to steady her voice.

They had never believed in hiding emotion from their daughter, but they also didn't want to get overly emotional either. It was okay for her to be sad, and even to see that they were sad, but they didn't want to frighten her with their sobs and shaky voices.

"Why not?"

"Just 'cause."

"But I like surprises."

"Another time, okay?"

"Okay."

Arizona returned with the baby's pictures and sat down to show Sofia. "Can we talk for a second?" she asked.

"Yep," the four-year-old nodded.

They had been thinking a lot about the best way to tell her, and there really wasn't a good way. No matter how they did it, they had to tell her that something was wrong with her sibling. They decided not to wait to share this news because Sofia would catch on eventually and they needed to help prepare her as much as possible. Of course, they were planning to keep things very age appropriate, but they didn't want to completely shock her if, God forbid, something did happen to the baby.

"Sof, you know that scar you have on your chest?" Callie asked, clearing her throat as she traced over the area with her finger.

"That little line?"

Sofia had had her heart surgery when she was so tiny, meaning that it appeared to get smaller and smaller as she got bigger and bigger. It was still noticeable, but not as big now.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"I know that one," she said. "Why?"

"Do you remember how we told you you got it?"

"Ummm…"

"When you were a baby, your heart had to get fixed, right?" Arizona asked. "Because your heart didn't work like it was supposed to."

"Oh, yeah!"

"Well, today we found out that the new baby's heart doesn't work like it's supposed to either," Callie said.

"Why not?"

Callie drew a deep breath as she watched the tears start to form in her wife's baby blues.

"Sometimes that just happens," she said.

"Maybe the baby wants to be like me."

"Maybe," Callie replied, forcing a smile.

"And it'll get its heart fixed?" she asked.

"We hope so, right?" Callie asked, giving Sofia a kiss as she saw concern on the little girl's face.

"Yeah."

"We just have to say some prayers for Baby, okay?" she said.

"I will," she said. "'Cause I'm the big sister."

"You are," Arizona smiled.

"And Baby's still cute?"

"The cutest," Callie nodded.

"I'm the cutest," she protested. "You said before, 'member? Even though I'm big."

"You both are," Arizona said.

"Yeah."

They tried to end the conversation on a good note, showing Sofia the pictures she had been promised and letting her enjoy seeing her brother or sister. They didn't know if this worked, but it was the best they could do for now.

"We love Baby lots, huh?" Callie asked, giving Sofia another kiss on the top of her head.

"I'll tell Jesus 'Jesus, make our baby get better, please.'"

"How come Jesus gets a 'please?'" Arizona asked. "You forget the 'please' with us."

"The please makes Jesus extra happy."

"I see."

"And God listens to all of our prayers, right?" Callie asked. "Even if we don't get what we want."

"Yeah," she said. "But I hope we do."

"I do, too."

"We'll have to see, right?" she asked. "Be patient and wait for God to decide," she said, as if wise beyond her years, since most four-year-olds weren't exactly patient people.

It was just the reminder that her moms needed. As much as they wanted to control this, they had to put the fate of their little one into the hands of God and of the doctors who would be treating him or her.

* * *

Sofia and Arizona were in bed. Sofia was tuckered out because she had had a busy day at school, and Arizona had cried herself to sleep. Yet, here Callie was, still awake. She had gotten out of bed once Arizona had dozed off, not able to simply lay there in the silence.

Her phone rang and she answered it quickly, not wanting to wake her family. They had called the grandparents a few hours ago, so she assumed that somebody was calling back with more questions or something.

"Hello?"

"How are you holding up?" Mark's voice asked.

Instantly, the tears began again. She couldn't mask her emotions any longer.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Torres," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything."

"You didn't," Callie said. "It's not you. It's just..."

"Yeah," he replied. "It's going to be okay, Callie."

"You don't know that."

"No, but I do know this amazing kid who was born at twenty-three-and-a-half weeks and made it."

Callie smiled. "True."

"If this baby's anything like its sister, it'll make it," Mark said.

"God, I hope so."

"How'd Sofia take it?"

"We kept the explanation very, very simple so she doesn't really understand how serious it is. But she was upset."

"Yeah."

"Do you think telling her was the right thing?"

"I do," he nodded. "If you didn't, then she'd be even more confused."

"Yeah. That's what we figured."

"Let us know if there's anything you need," Mark said. "Anytime."

"Thanks."

Callie could hear Arizona waking up in the bedroom.

"Mark, I've got to go," she said. "See you tomorrow."

"You're working?"

"We can't take…forever off."

"Well, no, but a few days –"

"If we sit here, we'll go crazy."

"Okay," he replied. "Bye."

"Bye."

After hanging up, she went into the bedroom to find Arizona propping herself up with some pillows. She had Baby's ultrasound pictures in her hand.

"I can't sleep," Callie told her as she got back into the bed.

"And I keep waking up," she said.

"You know," Callie smiled, looking at their baby's face in the picture that Arizona was holding up. "Baby might not be healthy, but it's gorgeous."

"How can you tell?" Arizona asked. "I'm not saying it's ugly or anything, but I wouldn't say this low-quality ultrasound picture is exactly proof that it's stunning."

"Those are your lips," Callie pointed out. "And your nose. We're getting a little mini-Arizona."

"Except that I still think it's a boy. The heart rate thing might be explained now, but still. Boy."

"What if we find out?" Callie proposed.

"Calliope…"

"Think about it," Callie said. "We didn't get that happy 'it's a girl!' moment with Sofia. And we might not get that with this baby now either. If it needs to be whisked off quickly…"

"True."

"And I think we need to be told something normal," Callie said. "I'm hoping the amnio doesn't reveal additional problems, but I think either way, we should ask to be told the sex. That way, if it's bad news, it's not _all _bad and if it's good news, then we make sure we still get our 'it's a…' moment. Not exactly the same, but I have a feeling this kid's going to make us make the best out of most situations."

"Yeah," Arizona said, seeing Callie's point now. She nodded. "Let's do that."

"I say it's a girl," she replied.

"We'll see, won't we?"

"Soon."

"Yep."

"Did you call Addison?"

"I got voicemail and left a message she probably can't even understand," Callie said. "But she'll call back. And hopefully she'll be able to tell us something that's less…"

"Devastating?"

"Exactly."

"Hopefully."

"We'll get through this," Callie promised. "I have no idea how, but we will."

"Do we have much of a choice?"

"No."


	3. Faith

Two weeks later, Arizona went in for the fetal echocardiogram. Dr. Brady had added her to his caseload as soon as he heard her name since they had worked together before. She and Callie were relieved to have one of the best Pediatric Cardiologists already on the baby's case.

However, she was still feeling uneasy as the test was being performed. He couldn't tell her much until he was finished, since he had to have all of the information himself. To make matters worse, Callie's surgery had ran late after some unexpected complications arose, so she wasn't there yet. Arizona knew she would be within a matter of minutes though, since she had just received a text saying so.

"Why does it feel like this is taking forever?" Arizona asked.

"We're almost done," Dr. Brady said, with a smile. "Promise."

"Good."

She began trying to decipher what that smile meant. Was it a "I feel so bad for you" smile or a "things don't look as bad as I thought" smile? She had given both of these types to her patients and their parents, so she was hoping that this would make Dr. Brady easy to read, it didn't help very much. His charm seemed to let him avoid giving away too much information with the gesture. Finally, she decided that he had simply meant to offer her some comfort. She still didn't know what for, but waiting was the only choice she had at that very moment.

Just then, Callie walked in. "I'm so, so sorry," she said. "I should've been out of that surgery hours ago."

"It's okay," she said. "He hasn't even said anything yet."

"I take it you're her wife?" Dr. Brady asked.

"That would be me," she smiled. "Callie Torres."

"Austin Brady," he replied.

He turned the monitor around and showed them the image of their baby's heart.

"Just tell us," Arizona said.

"I have good news and I have bad news," he said. "I'll start with the bad since it isn't really 'news.'

"It's definitely hypoplastic left heart syndrome," Arizona said.

"Yes."

"I used to work with Addison Montgomery," Callie told him. "We've been talking and she was giving me a rough idea of what the first surgery entails. I know it's meant to reconstruct the aorta, but when I asked her how soon after birth she recommends doing it, she said anytime within the first couple of days. I know you're the doctor here, but…"

"It's okay," he told her. "You're just getting as much information as you can. That's good."

"Yeah," Callie said. "She told me that it mattered in some really, really severe cases, but in others, the outcome didn't change whether the baby was an hour old when it was done or two days old. What do you usually do?"

"It absolutely depends on the severity," he agreed. "Some babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome have an aorta that doesn't function whatsoever. But here's the good news. While I'll never say that hypoplastic left heart syndrome isn't serious, because it certainly is, I've seen babies with far worse function than your baby seems to have. Of course, Arizona'll have to have regular testing until the birth, but as of right now the heart isn't looking as bad as I've seen some look. It's not looking great, but…"

"It's looking as good as it's going to look," Arizona said. "So, hopefully surgery'll be successful?"

Arizona may have been a Pediatric surgeon, but she still had questions. At times, it was difficult to think like a doctor when it came to her own child, so she found herself asking many questions anyway.

"I can't promise a good outcome," he replied. "These are very risky procedures."

"Right," she said. "But there's hope of getting the baby to the point where you can operate?"

She knew that some babies with this condition would die before surgery could even be performed. That was now less likely due to better treatment options, but it was still a possibility.

"There is," he nodded. "As long as the ductus arteriosus doesn't close before we get in there."

"So, is it best to do it immediately after birth?" Callie asked. "Just to be on the safe side? I know it doesn't make the actual surgical outcome better, but it would mean that there would be a lesser chance of it closing before…"

"My preference is usually to do it sometime within the first twenty-four hours. That doesn't leave it until the last possible minute, but it's usually not immediate either," he said. "We'll be monitoring the heart closely and if we see signs that it's going to close sooner rather than later, we'll go in. We'll also be giving the baby any other support it might need."

"Yeah."

"But I tend to be in favour of giving the family at least some time together first," he said. "Sometimes I can't, but I like to if I can."

"Because it could be the only time we get," Arizona said, feeling the tears begin to flow down her cheeks again. "If things don't go well."

He nodded. He was talking to two doctors and they knew exactly what he was saying. They had probably done the same thing many times before themselves. He wasn't going to pretend that this wasn't the reason.

"I also feel like, as parents, you need to be able to hold your baby as long as you can. That typically involves a visit to the N.I.C.U. and a bunch of leads and tubes, but you're going to be spending half of this pregnancy thinking about surgeries and medicine and hospital stays. If you can, you need the opportunity to just enjoy your baby and be moms."

"Okay," Callie said, giving her wife a kiss and doing everything she possibly could to hold it together since Arizona was still crying.

Dr. Brady handed her a box of tissues. "Any other questions?" he asked. "You can call me anytime, but…"

"Will you be at delivery?" Arizona said. "Because I know sometimes I've attended delivery for similar cases. I'm a Pediatric surgeon who knows what she's doing, and I know Seattle Grace Mercy West has other very, very talented Peds. surgeons and Cardiothoracic surgeons. I'm good friends with a few of them. But you're both. And for my kid, I need both."

"The goal is for me to be there," he said. "And if my schedule gets to full around your due date, we can talk with Dr. Bowden about possibly inducing you so that I can be there. Even if I'm not there right away, I will be coming as soon after the birth as possible."

"I like the induction idea," she said. "Clearly only if Baby's ready, but still. I just want to make sure you can be there."

"Me too," Callie agreed.

"When are you due?" he asked.

"December eleventh," Arizona said.

"Okay," he said. "We'll talk to Dr. Bowden as that gets closer and see what she thinks."

"Good."

"Are you planning to have an amnio?" he asked.

"That's tomorrow, actually," the blond nodded.

"I'm sure she'll think of it, but I'll make a note here to call Dr. Bowden's office just in case she doesn't send me the results. Since they could affect things here."

"Okay."

"Anything else you want to talk about?"

"Not right now," Arizona said. "I think we've covered it all."

"Oh," Callie remembered. "We asked one of our friends this, but she said she couldn't really give us an answer. What do you foresee in terms of quality of life? We just…we want to know."

"I know you do," he said. "Unfortunately, I just can't say quite yet. That depends on how the baby is at birth, how successful the surgeries are, how well the medication works…too many things we just can't determine yet."

"That's what I thought."

"We'll make the best of it," Arizona said. "I mean, we were facing so many scary possibilities when Sofia was born, but she ended up okay."

"I know."

"This baby won't be quite as lucky since we know that something is very wrong, but we can still hope for the best."

"Agreed."

"Sofia?" the doctor asked.

"Our daughter," Callie said. "She was a micro-preemie, but she definitely beat the odds."

"Good," he replied.

"Calliope carried her, so there's no reason to think that this baby'll be premature, too" Arizona clarified.

"Okay," he smiled. "And you're right. All you can do is make the best out of all of this. Which, hopefully, I can help you do."

* * *

Hearing that, while still very serious, their baby's case wasn't the worst that Dr. Brady had ever seen helped the two women. They had complete faith in him and his abilities.

Still, they knew that this didn't necessarily mean that their little one would make it. Many things could go wrong and cause complications. They also hadn't received the amniocentesis results yet, though they were expecting to hear from Dr. Bowden soon, since it had been a little over a week now. It was Saturday, and they had a feeling that she would call them on Monday.

The wait felt a little like torture, but again, they just had to trust that they would get the most favourable news possible. This was a struggle, but they were working on it together and taking it one day – sometimes one hour – at a time.

They were trying to keep themselves busy, which meant discussing baby names this morning. Some people assumed that they'd rather avoid all things baby because it would be too difficult, and that was partially true. They had been slow to do any baby shopping or bring any baby items into the house. They knew they'd have to one day, but they just weren't ready yet. However, they did want to decide on names. No matter what happened, this baby would always be a part of their family. Nothing could change that, and this new family member needed a name.

They were both trying to find first names that the other would like as much as they did. The expectant moms had already decided on middle names, as well as this baby's last name. If it was a boy, his middle name would be Timothy, after Arizona's brother. If it was a girl, she would share Mommy's middle name – Evelyn - in honour of Arizona's maternal grandmother. Either way, the baby would be a Torres, since it was more important to them that their children share a surname then it was for the baby to be a little Robbins. After all, Sofia was considered to be a Robbins even though that wasn't her last name. Arizona's family had fully embraced her, just like they would this new grandchild.

"Natalia Evelyn Torres," Callie said, as she scrolled down the screen of her laptop.

"I've treated four or so within the last couple of months."

"You work with children all day!" Callie protested. "You are going to know a child with every single one of these names. That doesn't make them too popular. Sofia doesn't care that she has other little girls with the same name at her school. She thinks it's fun."

"Right now she does."

"I always wished there was another Calliope in my class," she said. "Didn't you wish you knew another Arizona?"

"I knew it would never happen," she said. "Didn't even bother wishing."

"Right."

"What about Arlo?"

"A little too close to my dad's name," Callie said. "But it is nice."

"Who calls your dad Carlos, though? Nobody here. You call him Dad and Sofia calls him Abuelo. Most of the time, I do too because Sofia's around."

"True," she said. "Arlo Timothy Torres," she smiled. "Maybe. We'll think about it."

"Or what about Atticus?" she asked.

"Too Atticus Finch," Callie answered. "Even though it's a good name."

"Think about it," Arizona said. "It might be my favourite so far."

"Well, of your suggestions, yeah," Callie agreed. "But I still don't see what's wrong with something other children will have heard of."

"It's not that I don't want them to have heard of it," Arizona laughed. "It's that I want our child to have a name all their own."

"Why weren't you this vocal when we were naming Sofia?" she asked.

"You loved Sofia so much that I just couldn't say no. You lit up whenever you said it."

Callie smiled. "So, you let me pick a name you didn't like because I did?"

"I didn't not like it," she said. "I just didn't prefer it over some of the other names out there. But nobody could deny that Sofia fit her. Completely. So…it worked out."

Just then, Sofia came down the stairs wearing only a shirt and a pair of underwear.

"Well, look who it is," Callie smiled. "We were just talking about you."

"You're picking names for the baby," she said. "I heard you."

"Where are your pants?" Arizona asked, giving her a kiss as she curled up next to her on the couch and placed a hand on Mommy's belly. "Baby wants to go to that new little breakfast place this morning. I'm craving pancakes. So you've gotta finish getting dressed."

"But I wanna help pick some names out."

"We'll talk in the car," Callie told her.

"C'mon," Arizona said, getting up off of the couch. "Let's go pick some pants for you to wear, Missy."

"Okay, okay, okay…" the girl said, reluctantly following her mom.

Just as her girls disappeared up the stairs, Callie heard Arizona's phone start to ring. She checked it and recognized that it was Dr. Bowden's home number. It may not have been professional, but she had given it to them just in case they had any questions that they wanted answered after hours. After all, their situation was a unique one.

"Arizona!" she called out to her wife. "Dr. Bowden's on the phone!"

"Coming!" she called back.

Callie answered the phone. "Hi, Dr. Bowden."

"Hi. Callie?"

"Arizona's coming," Callie said as she put the phone on speaker so that her wife, who was making her way down the stairs now, could hear.

"Okay."

"We weren't expecting you to call on the weekend," Arizona said as she sat down next to Callie again.

"And from home," Callie added.

"I normally wouldn't but I got your amnio results just before we closed last night and I didn't get a chance to call you. I know you're been anxious, so I decided to call now."

"We don't need to make an appointment?" Arizona asked.

Callie smiled, thinking of this as a good sign. If something else was wrong with their baby, they probably wouldn't be told over the phone.

"No," the doctor answered. "Because there are no additional concerns."

"Thank God," she replied as her wife started crying relieved tears.

"I thought you'd like a little positive news this weekend," she told them.

"We love it," Arizona said.

"And you mentioned changing your mind about wanting to know the gender?" she asked.

"Yes," Callie confirmed. "What is it?"

"It's a girl," she revealed.

"It's really a girl?" Arizona asked.

"Mommy was sure it was a boy," Callie laughed.

"It's definitely a little girl," Dr. Bowden said.

"Well, Sofia was right," Arizona replied.

"What was I right about?" Sofia asked, coming back downstairs, still without any pants on.

"Dr. Bowden says Baby's a sister."

"Yay!"

Dr. Bowden laughed. "Well, I'll let you go. Have a good day."

"Thanks," Callie said.

"You too," Arizona added. "Bye."

With that, Callie hung up.

"Now what's my sister's name?" Sofia wondered.

"We don't know," Callie said. "But why don't you go get pants and we'll think about it some more?"

Arizona was still crying happy tears. "This is the best news we've gotten since…"

"Yeah," Callie nodded.

It was one less thing to have to worry about now, and since they already had a lot to worry about, it was nice to be able to stop thinking of all of the additional conditions that their little one could have, now that they knew for sure that she didn't have them. It was also nice to have gotten their happy gender reveal moment, even if it wasn't at birth.

"Mommy, you said either one was good," Sofia said. "'Member?"

"I know," she nodded. "But I'm happy because the doctor said that the test that the baby had to have came back good."

"Her heart got better?"

"No," Callie said. "But nothing else is wrong, so hopefully that makes it easier for her heart."

"Ohhh!"

"Remember I told you that that's what I've been praying about?"

"And Jesus said 'okay!'" she smiled, throwing her arms out.

It was then that Callie got an idea. She wasn't sure why it hadn't come to her sooner. Faith. Faith was so important to this baby girl's journey. Hers may have been more of a religious type of faith, but Arizona also had faith in the doctors. Without faith, they probably would have had an even harder time dealing with their baby's situation.

"Faith Evelyn, Mommy?" she suggested.

"I like it," she nodded, slowly rubbing her baby bump. "It's perfect."

"Is that her name?" Sofia asked.

"It is," Callie answered. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"It's a pretty name," she said. "Maybe she'll kick if she likes it. Tell her to kick, Mommy."

"I think she's still sleeping," Arizona said. "She hasn't kicked much yet this morning."

"Ask her later."

"Okay," she said. "First, let's get you some pants so that we can go have breakfast."

"And celebrate because Faith's test came back okay," Callie said.

"Yes!"


	4. She's Coming

The remainder of Arizona's pregnancy seemed to creep by. They were grateful that Baby Faith did not have any additional health concerns, but they were still very worried about her heart. The next few months were filled with doctor's appointments, sleepless nights, prayers, and tears, as well as everything else it took to get ready for a new little one.

"Hey," Callie smiled, giving her very pregnant wife a kiss when Arizona came to the hospital one afternoon towards the end of November, the day before Thanksgiving. "Everything okay?" she questioned, placing her hand on Arizona's belly.

Her reason for asking was really because everything wasn't okay. They were much more on edge now, and this visit wasn't planned.

Arizona was on maternity leave since her scheduled induction was just a week away. She was planning to deliver on December second – nine days before her due date – in order to be certain that Dr. Brady would be able to be there right after Faith was born.

"Just sitting there is getting to be a bit much," Arizona explained, nodding to let her wife know that she was physically fine.

Faith's nursery – a room full of soft pinks accented with white as per Mommy's insistence – was complete and baby things were everywhere. When Callie and Sofia were home with her, Arizona didn't think much about them. It was during the day, with Sofia at preschool and Callie at work, that the sad thoughts filled her mind. What if they were collecting all of this baby stuff and decorating a room for a baby that they wouldn't take home? What if they were telling Sofia all about a sister she wouldn't get to grow up with? After a morning of thoughts like these, Arizona just had to get out of the house for a little while, so she decided to go see what Callie was doing at work on that particular day.

"Yeah," Callie replied. "But after today, Sofia and I'll be home with you. And your parents and my dad'll be here. So hopefully that helps."

"I hope so."

"We're going to get to take her home," Callie said. "Taking care of her isn't going to be easy, but we're going to get her home. We have to believe that."

"I know."

"You believe that right?"

Of course, Callie couldn't help but worry about Faith's little life, too. However, she was trying to stay strong for Arizona and Sofia.

"I do," she nodded.

"Good because everybody's as prepared as they can possibly be for her," Callie said. "We're doing everything we can to make sure she has the best chance."

"Yep," she agreed. "I was having a ton of Braxton-Hicks earlier. I was starting to wonder if she was going to come all on her own before the induction."

"If she does, she does," Callie said. "Brady'll still do his best to be at delivery."

"I know."

"And it could make the induction easier if you're having Braxton-Hicks. Your body'll be more ready for labour."

"True."

* * *

Thanksgiving was great; it was nice to spend time with family, especially because Sofia loved the time she was getting to spend with her grandparents. In fact, she was having so much fun that she didn't even realize that she hadn't gone back to preschool the week after. Callie, Arizona, Mark, and Lexie had all agreed that it was probably best for her to stay home for an extra week until Faith was born. She would return the day of Faith's first surgery, but until then, they wanted her to be able to have special family time with her moms, her grandparents, and her baby sister.

"Madre!" she exclaimed, running through the door after dinner on the night before her new sibling was supposed to be born.

She had been at her dad's for a few hours, but she figured that everybody but Mommy would be awake when she got back. She was correct. It may have only been seven o'clock, but the Pediatric surgeon had been especially exhausted lately, so she usually settled in not too long after dinnertime.

"What?" Callie asked, coming to the door so that Sofia would lower her voice and hopefully not wake Arizona, who clearly needed all the rest she could get these days.

"Daddy and Lexie and Max buyed stuff for Faith and I got to open it for her," Sofia said. "I was 'posed to wait 'til she got borned and then help her, but I wanted to know what was in there."

"I see," Callie smiled. "What did she get?"

"Some clothes and some books," she said. "She'll like them."

"Good. Wanna go put them in her room? Then you can come eat cookies with us. Grandma made them."

"Okay."

"I'll see you later, Sof," Mark said as he gave his little girl a kiss goodbye.

"When?" she asked.

"In a few days," he said. "We don't know for sure. But you'll have a little sister the next time I see you."

"I know!" she smiled.

"Exciting, huh?"

"She comes tomorrow, right?" Sofia asked Callie.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Grandma and I'll go to the hospital with Mommy, and you'll stay here with Grandpa and Abuelo, okay?"

"They give me lots of candy," she smiled. "And then I get to go see Faith?"

"Yep."

"Good."

"When you bring that upstairs, be quiet so that you don't wake up Mommy."

"I know."

"Thanks," Callie said, as she kissed her.

"Bye, Little Goose," Mark said. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," she said.

"I love you."

"I love you more," she smiled, as she headed up the stairs to put her little sister's gift away.

"Let me know if you need anything," Mark told Callie. "I know your dads are going to be with her tomorrow, but even after that. Once Faith's here, if they want to be at the hospital with her some more before the surgery, let us know. Lexie and I are both working, but we'll figure something out. No big deal."

"Thanks, Mark."

"It'll be okay," he told her, guessing that she had been telling Arizona the same thing so much that she probably needed to hear it herself. After all, she couldn't be strong all of the time.

"Yeah."

* * *

After she came back downstairs, Sofia curled up on Abuelo's lap and enjoyed a few cookies as a bedtime snack.

"Know what I think?" she asked as crumbs fell over both of them.

"What?" he asked.

"I need some chocolate milk," she said.

"How about regular milk?" Callie suggested, knowing that her girl would be up way past her bedtime if she allowed her the sugary drink. "It's almost bedtime."

"Sometimes Daddy says yes."

Sofia definitely knew how to use the fact that she was being raised in two different households to her advantage. While her parents now made an effort to be on the same page, there were still some minor things that Mark and Lexie were more lenient about, and vice versa. Sofia was convinced that, one day, her mommy and madre would give in because of some special thing she did at her dads, or that Daddy and Lexie would finally agree to let her do something that Madre and Mommy didn't.

"And that's good for Daddy," she said. "That must be a special treat, huh?"

"Yeah," she said. "Just for me. Max is too little still."

"Yep."

"So, can I have some?"

"Tomorrow at lunchtime," Callie promised. "Abuelo and Grandpa can give it to you, okay?"

"Okay," Sofia said, looking over at her grandpa. "Remember, 'kay?"

"I'm sure you'll remind him," Grandma smiled.

"Right now, do you want some regular milk with your cookies?" Madre asked.

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, please," she smiled.

"That's better."

Callie got up to go get Sofia her milk and, by the time she returned, Arizona was sitting in her spot on the couch.

"You're awake," she smiled. "Did we wake you?"

"I think I might be in labour," Arizona revealed. "I woke up and I was having Braxton-Hicks, but these aren't stopping and they just seem different to me."

"She's coming," Callie smiled.

"I think so," her wife nodded.

"Faith's comin' now?" Sofia asked. "Yay!"

"Finish up your snack," Callie told the anxious sister as she handed over the milk. "Then we'll get those teeth brushed, put those jammies on, and we'll tuck you in before we go to the hospital."

"Okay," she said. "And in the morning, I go see Faith?"

"If she's here in the morning," Arizona explained. "Sometimes babies take a long time."

Sofia rested her messy hand on Arizona's bump. "Don't take a long time, Faith," she said. "I wanna see you in the mornin'."

"We all do," Callie said. "But we have to be a little bit patient, okay?"

"I try," she nodded. "But it's really, really hard when I wanna see my baby sister."

"I know."

* * *

"Does she seem _so_ big to you, too?" Arizona asked after they had just tucked their daughter in, knowing that she wouldn't be their only child for very much longer, considering that Mommy was still experiencing some mild contractions.

"Huge," Callie nodded, as they stood in the doorway watching Sofia sleep.

"Next time we do this, we'll have two of those."

"I know," Callie smiled, rubbing her wife's large belly.

"At least I hope so," she said.

"Shh…" Callie replied. "We're not going to think of anything but getting her here. Once she's here, then we can start thinking about everything else."

"Good luck with that," she said, knowing that they were both going to be worried for a long, long time to come.

"We'll try."

"Deal," she said. "I love you so much."

"Remember that when you're screaming at me later," she laughed.

"Will do," Arizona smiled. "I'm going to call Bowden and let her know what's going on, but it's still way too early to go in, even though Faith needs to be monitored. I think I'm going to eat something so that hopefully I'm not starving later."

"Sounds good," Callie smiled, still moving her fingertips across her wife's baby bump. "Take it easy on Mommy, okay Faith?"

"I'm not even worried about me."

"I know you're not," she said. "That's my job."

Arizona kissed her. "Fine," she smiled. "But listen to me -"

"I know," Callie nodded, knowing what her wife was going to say. "If they have to whisk her away, I'll go with her."

"Good."

"At least it's only like…twelve hours before your induction was supposed to be," Callie said. "So Brady shouldn't have a problem being there."

"Nope."


	5. She's Here

It took them about two hours to actually head to the hospital. Sofia woke back up as Arizona was eating and she didn't want to go back to sleep or to let her moms and her grandma leave. It took awhile to convince her that all of that had to happen in order for Mommy to go have the baby, but she finally decided that it was okay.

"Faith's got her own idea of how she wants her birthday to go, doesn't she?" Dr. Bowden asked as she walked into Arizona's room around quarter after ten that night.

"No induction for you."

"Nope," the blond smiled. "Hopefully this means I can avoid Pitocin and therefore avoid the epidural, too."

Arizona's birth plan didn't include any medication because she didn't want to take any chances that the medications included in the epidural could make things even the slightest bit more difficult for Faith. Typically, she knew that this wasn't a concern for the vast majority of babies; if Faith would have been a healthy baby, she wouldn't have thought twice about requesting pain relief. However, she was nervous that any medication in her system could make things harder on the little one at birth. There was no absolute proof of this theory, but the mom in her just felt like she had to protect her baby against even a slight possibility that this could happen. There was already enough to worry about with her. Dr. Bowden had told her that the epidural wasn't likely to make a major difference, but Arizona kept finding conflicting facts on this, so she had opted to do everything she could for Faith, just in case.

"It's okay for plans to change, though," Callie reminded her wife. "If you have to get it, don't beat yourself up about it."

"I know plans change," she replied. "I know. The plan wasn't to have a sick baby. And that's happening, so…"

"I called Dr. Brady and he will be here," Dr. Bowden said. "All I have to do is give him a call when it's closer to the time for delivery."

"Good," Arizona's mom said.

"And her heart rate's looking good right now," the doctor added. "Just what we like to see."

"She's been obsessing over it," Callie told her.

"Oh, we both have," Arizona agreed.

"Okay, maybe we both have."

"Well, it's a good sign," Dr. Bowden smiled. "I do have to warn you though that if that changes or if there's any other reason to think that you need a C-Section –"

"And I don't have an epidural in place, I'll have to be put under," Arizona finished. "I know. But it's worth it if I can avoid having unnecessary drugs in her system. Calliope wasn't awake when Sofia was born. At least you'll let her in, right?"

"Right," she nodded. "Usually, no. But she works here, so…"

"Yeah."

"Faith's lucky you're having her," Callie told her wife. "Because I see drugs as a very necessary part of labour. I'm glad you want to do what's best for Faith, but I don't think I could do that."

"You could," Arizona said. "And I can to. So I'd rather not have people asking me if I'm sure anymore. If I change my mind and decide to get it, believe me, you'll all know."

Dr. Bowden smiled. "I'll let your nurses know not to ask."

"Thanks."

The doctor checked Arizona's cervix and found that she was about four centimeters dilated. Faith had definitely decided to come on her own, and they were suspecting that she would arrive by the time that the induction had even been scheduled to begin. Of course, especially since it was Arizona's first delivery, there was no way to be sure, but so far things were going well.

"She could even have a different birthday," Barbara pointed out. "The second instead of the third."

Arizona looked at the clock. "You think she'll be out in less than two hours?! No. No way."

"I had you in three and a half hours and your brother in just over two."

"Total?" Callie asked.

"Yep."

"Wow."

"I don't know if it'll be quite that quick," Dr. Bowden said.

"Can I get a portable monitor so that I'm not stuck in the bed?" Arizona asked, after having a contraction that she had to focus on. "Laying down like this already isn't much fun."

"I'll go see if we have one available," she nodded. "I don't want you to go far if you walk though. If her heart rate does drop, we need to be able to get you back here pretty fast."

"I know."

"But I'm not saying don't walk. If that works, great."

* * *

Arizona did decide to get up and walk once she got a portable monitor, but she preferred just to pace back and forth in her room. This was mostly for the sake of privacy, but also to avoid taking any chances with being too far away if Faith's heart started giving them any problems.

She had been walking back and forth for four hours - only laying back down to get examined - trying to convince Faith to hurry it up. She was still handling the contractions much better than anyone really thought she would, but she definitely wasn't her usually cheery self anymore.

"Another one?" Callie asked, putting the coffee she had in her hand back down so that Arizona could lean against her through the pain of this one, as she had most of the others.

After hours of trying to figure out what worked best, they had discovered this. Arizona didn't seem to want anyone touching her in between contractions, but when they started, she needed all the support she could get. Callie would let her lean into her and remind her to breathe, while her mother would rub her back.

"You'd better drink that coffee_ real_ quick," Arizona warned her before the pain got too, too intense.

It was two in the morning now and Callie knew that if she didn't get in the quick caffeine boost, she wouldn't be able to support Arizona as fully. She had to have as much energy as possible in order to help her wife through these next few hours. Still, she did feel bad that Arizona was just as tired and unable to get any chance to rest and recharge her batteries. Therefore, yes, the coffee would be gone as soon as possible.

"I know."

The familiar moaning and swaying began. It literally seemed like Arizona was getting more and more uncomfortable with each contraction, and Callie was feeling a little helpless. She wanted to take Arizona's pain away but she couldn't. Until Faith was born, all that she could do was hold her wife when she wanted to be held, sway with her, and whisper encouraging words in her ear.

"Ooo…" Arizona moaned. "Don't do that!"

"What?" Callie asked, letting Arizona go.

She thought they had figured out something that worked, but maybe she was mistaken. Maybe Arizona wasn't finding any relief in that position either.

"Not you," she said.

Callie moved back into position, letting Arizona's arms wrap around her neck again.

"What?" Barbara asked.

"Faith's moving," she explained when the pain ended and she let go. "It makes it so, so much worse. If she stays still, I can focus and get through it. She moves and it's all over."

"You want her to move, though," Callie said, giving her a kiss. "You'll dilate faster and be able to get her out."

"I know," she agreed. "But it hurts so bad."

"Want some ice chips?" she asked, as Arizona released her grip on her.

"Please," she nodded.

"You're doing so good," she said as she fed her a scoop of ice.

"I better be making progress by the next time I get checked," she said.

She had been stuck at five centimeters for the last two hours. Dr. Bowden was trying not to be too impatient, but she had mentioned the possibility of helping Arizona's labour along soon if there still wasn't much change. Callie was guessing she meant that she would break Arizona's water, but her wife was convinced that she meant something much more invasive.

"We'll see."

"I've walked, and I've walked, and I've walked."

"First labours can be long sometimes. It started off good, but..." her mom said.

"Oh, you had me in three hours, start to finish," she snapped. "I've been doing this for six so far!"

"Okay, okay," Callie said, rubbing Arizona's belly. "Faith's coming, Mommy. I promise."

"Don't touch me," she replied.

"Right," Callie said, backing away again.

Dr. Bowden came in the room. She and the nurses had been able to watch Faith's monitors from the nurse's station – as they did with any baby they were delivering – so they had tried their best not to bother Arizona too much.

"Can I check you again?" she asked.

"Calliope…" she said as another pain began.

Callie let her drape her arms around her neck again, and let her sway through the pain. Mrs. Robbins was rubbing her back again. Yet, this wasn't seeming to help this time.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"Breathe," Callie said. "Faith's going to come. She really is."

"Soon!"

"Soon."

After what felt like a lifetime, but was really only a minute, that pain ended. Arizona got on the bed to let Dr. Bowden examine her.

"Hurry," she told her. "I don't like contractions in the bed."

"I know," she nodded.

Callie gave Arizona more ice chips. "Relax," she told her softly. "The more you relax, the faster she can check you."

"I'm trying!" she cried.

"I know."

"You're seven," Dr. Bowden said. "I don't know what held it up for awhile there, but

now this is happening."

"Good," Arizona said. "How much longer?"

"I can't tell you that," she said. "But let's put it this way. I'm going to call Brady again right now. So soon."

"An hour," she replied, as if this was something she actually had control over. "I can only take another hour."

"This'll take as long as it takes," Callie said, kissing her. "And you can do it."

"Two hours tops," she said, reaching for Callie's arm.

"Arizona, look at me," she replied, moving herself so that Arizona was looking into her eyes. "No more thinking about the time, okay? You're doing this."

"I hate this, Calliope."

"I know," she said. "I know you do."

Knowing that another pain would be coming soon, they got her to sit up. They figured that it would probably be more painful than when she was standing, but less excruciating than when she was laying down. It was the best they could do with such little time in between the contractions now.

"Good," her mom encouraged her through it.

"I like sitting," Arizona realized after the contraction. "That…I don't know, but it worked."

"Want to sit in the rocking chair then?" Dr. Bowden asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm going to go call Dr. Brady, but Faith's looking good still," she told her as she left the room.

"Good," Arizona said with her hand on her belly as soon as she sat in the rocking chair. "Come out soon, Faith."

"She will," Callie said. "I'm so proud of you. Faith's got such a strong mama."

"What's her heart rate?" Arizona asked.

"Bowden said it's fine."

"Number, Calliope," she said.

"132," Callie answered.

She had been checking it at what felt like every opportunity, but she didn't want Arizona to be obsessing over it anymore.

"Good."

"She's doing great," she said as she wiped Arizona's forehead with a cool cloth. "I have some pretty amazing girls."

* * *

The rhythmic motion of the rocking chair seemed to help Arizona zone everything out as she had contractions. She was moaning quite loudly, but she was doing it. There was no doubt in Callie's mind that, barring any complications, Arizona would get her completely natural birth. Going into this, she was actually pretty doubtful, even if she hadn't told her wife that. Arizona was proving her to be more and more wrong with every pain she had now.

Dr. Brady came into the dimly lit room. "Hi," he said quietly.

Arizona opened her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he told her. "I just got here and I thought I'd come check on her. She's doing just fine."

"She's stubborn," Arizona said. "She's gonna be just like Madre."

Callie smiled. "I don't know, her mommy's pretty stubborn, too."

"Her mommy just wants her out," Arizona said.

"Soon," Barbara said. "Soon, Arizona. You're going to meet her in just a little while."

It was then that Arizona felt the popping sensation, followed by the trickle of fluid running down her legs.

"My water broke," she announced, just as a contraction began.

"Definitely," Callie said as she noticed the fluid. "Good."

Arizona didn't know how long it took, but it seemed like just minutes before she felt a big change. Everything felt more intense and she was now thinking that everyone was right: Faith would be arriving sooner rather than later.

"I feel pressure," she complained. "A_ lot _of pressure."

"I'll go get everybody," Dr. Brady said. "There are going to be quite a few people in here, but don't be alarmed."

Arizona nodded. She knew that this would happen, but Dr. Brady was probably reminding her just because she wasn't exactly herself right now.

Callie kissed her wife. "You ready?" she smiled.

Arizona simply squeezed both of her hands as a contraction began yet again.

* * *

"Come on, Faith!" Arizona begged, with tears in her eyes, as she took a short break in between pushes about twenty minutes later.

She was lying on the bed now, which was the least comfortable position for her. However, it was the most common position for a hospital birth and it also provided the many people that were there for Faith easy access to her if that was necessary right away. Still, Arizona's back was killing her and the pushing contractions and pressure that she felt as Faith moved down were beyond unbearable.

"She's almost here," Callie said. "Almost. As soon as she's here –"

"Go with her," she cut her off.

"I will," Callie said. "But as soon as she's out, you'll feel so much better, Arizona. You focus on this right now. Okay?"

"Yeah."

"And I'll have our dads bring Sof as soon as she wakes up. Okay? Let's get Faith out so we can see our girls, Mommy."

"I'm trying."

"You're doing it."

Arizona pushed again and Dr. Brady put an oxygen mask on her as soon as she stopped. She and Callie both knew that this meant that Faith's heart rate had probably dropped while she was pushing. Understandably, this caused Arizona to panic and Dr. Brady saw the fear washing over her face.

"What's her heart rate?" she asked him.

"It was 108," he told her. "It's back to 126 now, but we just want to make this as easy as possible for her. It's normal for any baby's heart rate to dip during pushing. Remember that she's literally being squeezed. I just want to make sure that we give her all the help we can. She's still okay."

Arizona tried to roll to her left side because the doctor in her knew that this position could also help the baby's heart rate. "Help!" she told her wife, now yelling because another contraction had begun and she was automatically bearing down.

Callie quickly helped her to reposition herself. "Arizona, look in the mirror," she told her as she held her leg up and saw that Faith's head was slowly crowning. "She's right there."

"Shhh…" Arizona said, still pushing, but looking as well.

"Okay," Callie nodded.

When she stopped pushing, Arizona removed the oxygen for just a second and gave Callie a soft kiss. She had gone from not wanting Callie– or anyone else – to even touch her between pains to desperately needing her wife's touch the entire time now.

Barbara smiled. "Good, Arizona."

"Shhh…" she said, putting the oxygen mask back on. "No talking."

"Arizona," Dr. Bowden said softly, still trying to respect Arizona's request while she did her job. "Usually babies ease themselves out more than Faith is. In order to prevent tearing, I need you to really, really focus."

"Come on, Faith," she said, giving the smallest push she could next time the urge came. "Come, Baby Girl."

"That's it," the doctor said as Arizona worked more of Faith's head out. "Good, Mommy."

"It hurts so bad!" she cried.

She had been trying to stay as calm as possible, knowing that focused pushes were more effective and would get the baby out sooner, but she just couldn't help it.

"I know."

"A few more pushes and it'll be over," Callie told her.

"Shhh…" she replied again, gripping Callie's hand tighter now. "I'm trying!"

"You're doing it," Dr. Bowden smiled. "Her whole head's out. Stop pushing for just a minute."

Arizona looked up at Callie, as if to tell her that she needed distraction. The thought of not pushing when it was what her body wanted and when it was the only way to end her pain seemed ridiculous, even though it wasn't really.

"Breathe," Callie said. "Just hold on, Mommy. Hold on."

"One more push," Dr. Bowden eventually instructed.

Callie watched as Arizona pushed and, suddenly, Faith Evelyn was brought into the world. The little one was only seconds old, but she was already absolutely perfect in her madre's eyes. She seemed like a giant in comparison to Sofia's size as a newborn; if she didn't know something was very wrong, Callie would have thought that her second child was the healthiest baby alive. The tiny girl was also her Mommy's mini-me in every way and her wisps of light hair were proof of that.

"Hello!" Arizona smiled as she wrapped her arms around her girl for the first time just as the baby let out a cry. "Oh, it's so, so nice to hear you, Miss Faith!"

Callie removed Arizona's oxygen and kissed both of them, trying to soak in the feeling of this moment. She hadn't really known what to expect emotionally. Obviously, she was worried about Faith's future, but she was also in total awe of this perfect being before her. For this moment, their girl was okay.

"Hi, Faith Evelyn!" she exclaimed. "We love you so much!"

"I just had a baby!" Arizona practically giggled, looking up at her wife. "She's amazing!"

"What can I say?" Callie nodded. "She's just like you."

"You did so good," Arizona's mom told her. "And she's gorgeous!"

"Are you gorgeous, Baby?" Arizona asked, smiling down at her new daughter. "Say 'yep! Me and my big sister are the most gorgeous girls ever!'"

"Agreed," Callie smiled. "You are!"

It was then that Arizona began to hear Faith's laboured breathing. It wasn't too, too bad, but it wasn't a good sign either.

"Is she okay?" she asked, ready to hand the baby over because she assumed it was necessary.

"Just let me get in here," Dr. Brady said, putting his stethoscope up to the baby girl's chest while she still lay on her mommy's. "Let's listen, Faith."

"Do you need to take her?" Arizona questioned about a minute later.

"She just needs a little extra help," he said. "We'll take her over there, and then we'll see if she still needs more support."

"Okay," Callie said, as Dr. Bowden passed her the scissors to cut Faith's umbilical cord with. "There we go," she told her. "Now you can go with Dr. Brady."

"Give your moms kisses first," he said, letting Arizona kiss Faith before he lifted her up towards Callie for just a second so she could do the same. "Yeah! Kisses from moms help, too."

"Go," Arizona told Callie as soon as Dr. Brady walked across the room.

"You're my hero," she replied. "You actually just had a baby without any drugs. And she's every bit as beautiful as her sister."

"She is," Arizona smiled. "But go with her."

"She's just across the room. I really won't help anything if I crowd them. If they take her to the N.I.C.U., I'll go," her wife replied, even though the mom in her was struggling not to rush to Faith's side.

"I think we're going to head there," Dr. Brady decided. "Just so that I can monitor her a little more closely. She's doing okay, though. I just want to make it easier for her."

"Okay," Callie said, giving Arizona another kiss. "I'll go with her."

"Yeah."


	6. A Few Hours At A Time

Callie had never dreamed of this. Babies were her dream, that was for sure. Sick babies were not supposed to be a part of those plans though. However, she found herself in the N.I.C.U. sitting next to her second sick daughter and wondering if she and Arizona could really make it through this twice. Was there really hope for this sweet eight pound, three ounce girl? She had been telling herself, Sofia, and Arizona that there was for months, but she couldn't be sure that things would work out. Still, Sofia had taught them that parenthood was rarely easy, so she refused to give up on Faith. They had made it through so much that maybe it was all just meant to prepare them for Faith's fight.

The little girl's laboured breathing had gotten somewhat worse since her birth three hours ago. Already, Callie could notice that her colouring was off, too. It wasn't the worst it could be, but she wasn't exactly pink. There was a dull grey tint to her skin, which was a sure sign that giving Faith some oxygen was the right call.

"You don't like that oxygen or those monitor leads, do you?" Madre asked her. "I know! But they help you. They tell Dr. Brady and the nurses how your heart is. They keep track of your blood pressure, and your heart rate, and oxygenation…lots of important things."

Madre was softly stroking Faith's tiny arm. The other one had an IV in it, and Faith wasn't too happy about that either. Luckily, Madre's touch seemed to help somewhat. Faith opened her baby blues and looked over at Madre. Her newborn eyes couldn't see too clearly yet, but Callie didn't care. She had her little one's attention, and she was hopefully providing enough comfort.

"This isn't such a good birthday, is it?" she asked her. "I know. But I'm here. I'm right here, Faith. And I'm sure Mommy'll be coming soon. She's supposed to be resting, but she's worried about you. I think Grandma'll probably bring her down here in a bit. And I called Abuelo, and Grandpa, and Sofia. They're on their way, 'kay? Sofia's been waiting so long to see you! We all have. She knows your heart isn't doing so good, but she's been praying for you with me. And she just wants you to get better and be cute. She doesn't quite know that you won't get _all _better, but still. We want you to do as well as you can, okay?"

She gave her a kiss.

"Dr. Brady says kisses from moms help," she smiled. "I think they help mommies feel a little less bad for babies, but still. We've got plenty of kisses for you. There's no machine that's gonna go off and say 'Faith hasn't had enough love today!' Nope! Impossible!"

"Is that oxygen helping you, Faith?" Dr. Brady asked as he came over just as his new patient seemed to calm down some. "How's her breathing been sounding, Madre?"

"Not as bad, huh Faith?" Callie said. "But she's not too happy with that nasal cannula."

"I don't blame you," he told the baby. "I wouldn't like that too much if I were you, either." He placed his stethoscope on Faith's chest and listened. "Well," he said, after a minute. "I'm not so happy with your colouring, but hopefully the oxygen and the medicine help with that. Same with your breathing. And your heart's working pretty hard, but you're not lethargic."

"So…?" Callie asked.

"We had discussed doing the first surgery very soon after birth so that we don't risk any complications. If we wait too long and those connections in her heart start to close themselves up, she could go into shock."

"Right."

"I'm going to do an echo as soon as I can get a machine in here, but I'd like to book an O.R. for first thing tomorrow morning. The good thing about Faith's case – not that any of this is 'good', but if we have to find something good in it – is that we know what's going on. We can act before all of those natural connections that are helping her out right now close up. Sometimes we don't know a diagnosis until after birth and we don't get to act as quickly. Knowing what we know, and seeing that she's symptomatic even before anything's started to happen, makes me want to get a jump on it."

"Okay," Callie nodded. "Yeah, for sure."

"Any questions?"

"No," she said. "I pretty much figured that. To be honest, I was starting to hope that she could have the surgery closer to forty-eight hours old, but that's just because the mom in me was still…no matter how much I know…"

"You want a great, perfect outcome and it's hard to accept that this is happening," he said. "I can't relate. I don't have kids yet. But I've heard many, many parents say that. You're not the only one."

"I'm a surgeon. I know the facts. I _knew_ she wouldn't be born with a normal heart."

"Still. Now it's really real."

"That's an understatement," she said, tearing up again.

"I can't make promises," he told her. "I can't say that she'll be okay."

"I know," she agreed. "But that's all I want to hear."

"I know it is."

Just then, Arizona and Barbara arrived. Callie could tell that her speculation was correct: Arizona hadn't slept a wink. The tear stains on her cheeks told her wife that she had cried pretty hard this whole time instead.

"Mommy and Grandma are here," Madre told Faith.

"Yes, we are," Arizona smiled. "What's going on, Faith?"

"Surgery tomorrow morning," Callie explained, giving Arizona a kiss. "Oxygen and meds are helping out some, but she's still got her laboured breathing and well, her colouring…"

"Yeah," she said, as the little one took hold of her finger.

"But she seems alert," Callie said. "She's even been fussy. Nobody wants a fussy kid, but at least she isn't lethargic."

"You can try feeding her," Dr. Brady said. "Since we're not operating yet. See how it goes."

Babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome commonly had trouble feeding. Dr. Brady wasn't sure how Faith would do, but he wanted them to try. If it didn't go well, they had options, but they had to start somewhere.

"I pumped a few ounces and gave it to a nurse," Arizona said. "She told me it would be brought down here."

"I'll go check," he said as he left them.

"Thanks."

Callie picked Faith up and held her. She had tried this earlier, but her girl hadn't wanted anything to do with the position. This was most likely due to all the tubes and everything that was attached to her, so Madre had just put her back down, but she was happy to have a more content baby in her arms this time.

"I'll hold you until your milk comes, then Mama can feed you, okay? She's the one who got your sister to eat when she was in the N.I.C.U. Yeah! She wouldn't eat for me or her daddy, but she always ate for Mama."

"I think it was just luck," Arizona said.

"I think you girls know Mama has the magic touch," Callie smiled. "Hopefully."

"I thought feeding wasn't a problem until after surgery," Grandma said.

"That will probably complicate it even more," Arizona said. "But even now, it may not be easy. She's working harder to breathe, so…"

"Oh."

"How are you feeling, Mommy?" Callie asked.

Faith may have been the number one concern, but Callie couldn't help but worry about her wife as well. After all, she had just given birth a matter of hours ago.

"So, so tired," she yawned. "And I tore pretty bad, so that feels fantastic. But I'm here with Faith which is the most important thing."

A nurse brought a bottle with Faith's name on it over. Callie gave her a kiss before she passed her and her milk over to Arizona.

"Let's see," Arizona said, as she offered her newborn the bottle. "Can you eat for us, please? Dr. Brady says we can get some milk in your belly because you don't have to have surgery today."

Faith opened her eyes as she tasted Mommy's milk for the first time. She didn't seem too interested with the meal, though. A few sucks and swallows in, she stopped.

"No?" Madre asked.

"We'll take a little break and try again in a minute, okay?" Arizona suggested.

It was then that they heard their older daughter's voice in the scrub room. The excited four-year-old didn't have much interest in washing her hands and putting on a little gown right now. All she wanted to do was come meet her new sister.

"You have more visitors," Grandma told Faith.

"I'll be back," Callie said.

"Okay," Arizona replied.

Callie went into the scrub room to help explain to Sofia why all of this was necessary.

"Hey, Big Sister," she smiled.

"Faith's in there?"

"Mommy's holding her," she nodded. "They want to see you."

"Abuelo said I gotta wash hands," she said.

"Yep," Callie nodded. "We all have to. It's the rules so that we don't spread germs to the babies. See Grandma? Grandma's got a gown on, too. Look, they even have special gowns for brothers and sisters."

Sofia looked at the tiny pink gowns. "That's mine?"

"Yeah," she said. "You can get one on after we wash your hands really, really good."

"Okay," she replied. "And you, too?"

"Yep, I'll wash back up and put a new one on."

A few minutes later, Grandma snapped a picture of her oldest grandchild all ready to meet the new baby. The little girl was waving through the glass. She could tell even through the mask – which the smallest N.I.C.U. visitors had to wear since it was flu season and children weren't so great at covering their mouths – that Sofia had a great big smile plastered on her face.

"Hey, Sof," Arizona smiled as Sofia came in with the three adults behind her.

"It's Faith's breakfast time?" Sofia asked, watching as Mommy picked up the bottle and tried again to get her to eat even just a little bit.

"It is," Arizona smiled. "But she's not eating very much right now."

"Maybe if I feed her, she will," Sofia offered.

"I think for now that's a job for me," she replied. "But I'm sure Faith's happy you're here."

"I'm happy Faith came out," she smiled.

"Me too," she agreed.

"Did she get surgery yet?"

"Not yet," Callie said. "Sof, how about you and I sit here while Mom feeds Faith?" Callie asked.

The distraction of her big sister wasn't helping Faith eat. Callie understood that Sofia wanted time with her sister – and it would come – but she needed to keep her at bay for just a little while.

"Okay," she said, as Madre picked her up and they sat down in the rocking chair.

"So, how's my girl?" Callie asked. "What did you have for breakfast?"

"Abuelo gave me toast and peanut butter," she said. "And Grandpa said I could wear my Big Sister shirt, but then I got here and I gotta cover it up."

"When Faith's done eating, you can tell her all about it," Grandpa replied.

"Yeah," Sofia decided.

"Do you know when her surgery will be?" Daniel asked his daughter.

"Tomorrow morning," Arizona said, looking down at Faith so that she could hopefully avoid tearing up.

She really wanted these moments to be as happy as possible for Sofia's sake. Yes, she knew her sister was sick, but she didn't need every detail. It would only scare her.

"Surgery's like goin' to sleep," Sofia told Faith. "I 'member."

"You don't remember," Callie laughed. "Silly!"

Sofia giggled.

"You were too little to remember, right?"

"Yeah, but you tell me 'bout it when we see that line I got."

"Your scar, right? Faith'll have one, too."

"Oh," she said, watching as her sister actually started to eat well. "Faith's a pretty girl."

"Yep," Arizona nodded. "And she's doing a good job eating. Huh, Faith?"

"She a picky eater?"

"Well, she doesn't mean to be," Callie explained. "It's a little harder for her."

"Oh."

"Is this her first bottle?" Abuelo asked.

"Yep," Arizona nodded.

"When she's done, you could put her in the baby bed and I'll hold her hand," Sofia said.

She had seen pictures of her days in the N.I.C.U., so she knew the drill. They had helped to prepare her for all of the tubes and things that she would see Faith have. She was still somewhat uneasy, but she knew that all of those things were best for Faith, and not there to hurt her.

"Would you like that, Faith?" Arizona smiled. "You'll have a little rest and everybody'll talk to you."

Twenty minutes later, Faith yawned as Arizona laid her down. Sofia knelt on a chair and held the infant's hand.

"Are you sleepy, Faith?" she asked.

"She almost finished her bottle, though," Carlos smiled.

"She got about an ounce and a half," Arizona replied. "Not bad."

Faith yawned again. "Do you need a rest?" Grandpa asked. "I think Sofia's right."

"I know 'cause I'm her sister," Sofia decided.

Dr. Brady came over to check on Faith again.

"How'd her feeding go?" he asked.

"Slowly," Arizona said, holding up the bottle. "But she ate. About an ounce and a half."

"Good," he replied. "That doesn't mean much for the long run, though. After tomorrow, she'll be intubated for awhile and that's likely to set her back."

"Yeah," Callie said.

"But for now, she's eating. That's good."

Sofia looked up at the doctor as he did a quick exam, which Faith didn't like too much. The big sister wasn't very impressed that this doctor was making her little sister sad.

"It's okay, Sof," Arizona said. "Faith just doesn't like Dr. Brady bugging her."

"I've heard a lot about you, Sofia," Dr. Brady said. "My name's Dr. Austin."

"Hi," she said.

"Your sister's hands are warm, huh?" he asked, as he made note of this positive sign.

"Yeah," she said. "'Cause I hold her hand."

"You're a good sister," he smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "Because I have a brother, too. I know how to be a sister. And I got a big, big sister, too. But she doesn't live at Daddy's."

"I see."

"And Faith's just my sister," she said. "Not Max and Sloan's."

"Faith's lucky you're her sister," Grandpa told Sofia.

Callie looked over at Arizona and it was clear that her wife was barely holding it together. While it was good to see Sofia with Faith, they couldn't help but wonder if Faith would be as lucky as her sister had gotten. They already knew that Faith would be very ill for her whole life, but they just hoped that there would be a life ahead of her.

"You okay?" Callie mouthed to her wife.

"What if she doesn't make it?" Arizona simply mouthed back, quickly wiping away tears that she didn't want Sofia to see.

"One day at a time, Mommy," Callie said softly, as tears returned to her own eyes.

"Less than that," she whispered. "A few hours at a time."

"Yeah," she agreed.

They had no idea how they would be able to withstand the wait during Faith's surgery the next day. They had done it before with Sofia, and it would be the first of a series for Faith, but it would never get any easier to send their child into the operating room. They were all too aware of the complications that could occur and they knew that some parents never even got their babies back.


	7. First Surgery

"We love you so much," Arizona was telling Faith the next morning as she held her just minutes before she was about to go into surgery.

The newborn was upset because her belly was empty again, but her cries were making this even worse for her family. Luckily, Sofia was at school – and would be at Mark and Lexie's later on – so they didn't have to worry about keeping brave faces on for her, because they couldn't hold back the tears right now.

"How much longer do we have?" Callie asked Dr. Brady.

"A few minutes. The O.R. is ready," he said. "But if you need a bit longer, that's okay."

"You be brave in there, okay?" Arizona asked Faith. "Dr. Brady'll take good care of you, Baby. And Madre and I'll be here as soon you come out."

"So will Grandma, Grandpa, and Abuelo," Callie said.

"We will," her dad agreed.

Teddy walked into the N.I.C.U. and picked up Faith's chart. Confusion spread across Arizona's face, because she had no idea that Teddy had requested to be in the operating room with her new niece. She may not have been a Pediatric Cardiologist, but she couldn't possibly let her best friend's daughter have heart surgery without being there for her.

"I'm scrubbing in," Teddy said. "What kind of Godmother would I be if I didn't?"

"Thank you," she said, tearing up again.

Even this didn't guarantee a good result, but she felt a sense of peace with the fact that Teddy would be there for Faith when she couldn't be herself. She knew that Teddy loved her girls as much as she and Callie did and she would do anything for them.

"I had to fight Karev and Yang for it," Teddy said. "But I gave Yang a pretty complex case of mine, so she'll be busy. And Karev's going to be in there, too. He'll be the one we send out every hour or so to give you updates. I know you want to know what's going on."

They couldn't imagine waiting all of that time with no news at all. They didn't know how most families did it; they just had to sit around and patiently wait to be told something. Callie insisted that this not be the case for them. They understood the medicine. They could handle the updates, good or bad.

"Okay," Callie said. "Good."

"Are you ready, Faith Evelyn?" Arizona asked, after one more kiss. "We'll see you in a little bit. Sofia said it's just like going to sleep, remember? We love you so, so much."

The little girl let out the loudest cry she was capable of as Mommy handed her back to Madre. The tears began flowing again as the weight of this moment set in with the family.

"It's okay!" Madre tried to tell Faith, even though the emotion on her face told a completely different story. "Go with Auntie Teddy and Dr. Brady. Alex is gonna be there, too. So many people who love you, Faith."

Arizona saw tears in Teddy's eyes too. "Oh no," she told her. "Get it together."

"I will," Teddy said. "It's just that right now I'm your friend and her Godmother. And this is hard to watch. In there, I become a doctor again. You know what that's like."

"I was in there for Sofia's surgery," she nodded. "Yeah."

Callie kissed the baby. "We'll see you soon, 'kay Mija? We love you."

"She knows," Teddy said as she put down Faith's chart and took the baby from Callie's arms. Faith stopped crying as she was placed down again. "Are you trying to tell everybody you're a brave girl?"

"She doesn't have much choice," Grandma said.

"We'll keep you updated," Dr. Brady replied.

"Thanks."

* * *

It was shortly after three in the afternoon now and they had just received word that the doctors were almost finished with Faith's surgery. Alex had come to Arizona's room about ten minutes ago to tell them that Faith had lost quite a bit of blood pretty quickly, causing a significant delay that called for all hands on deck. They had managed to stop the bleeding and get more blood into her now, though. Things appeared to be back on track.

Just as Alex left them, Callie received a text from Mark telling her that he was thinking about Little Faith and telling her that Sofia had a mouthful to tell them about her day at school the next time they saw her. He was hoping that this message would help lift their spirits as they waited.

"Apparently Sof had a good day," she told her wife.

"Good."

"Want to call her?" she asked. "Do you think we can keep it together long enough?"

The distraction that their four-year-old would provide was much needed, since they couldn't really do anything but wait for Faith's operation to finish up. There was still a lot to worry about, even if they were almost done, so Callie thought that having something else to focus on for a few minutes might be nice. Of course, they wouldn't stop thinking about Faith, but it would probably relax them some to hear about Sofia's day.

"Barely," Arizona said. "But yeah."

Callie called Mark, who took what felt like forever to answer. It was only four rings, but it seemed like so many more. They had waited all day and it felt like maybe time was slowing down for them and only them. Everyone around them appeared to be having such busy days full of things that seemed so trivial compared to what they were facing. Knowing better, they suspected that many other people in the hospital felt the same way today, but they hadn't really noticed any of them so far.

"Hey," he finally spoke. "Sorry, Max took my phone and didn't want to give it back. How's it going? Are they done?"

"They had to transfuse her. So not yet, but almost."

"She has the best team Seattle has to offer in there," he replied. "Even though things haven't gone flawlessly, they all know how to handle themselves."

"We know," Arizona said. "But she's not even two days old and she lost all of that blood. Karev wouldn't give us an estimate, so I'm pretty sure it was easily enough to have killed her."

"It didn't, though," her dad said. "She's still in there."

"I know."

"Can we talk to Sofia?" Callie asked Mark. "We kind of just want to hear her voice."

"Sure," he replied. "Sofia! Come here!"

"Daddy, you said I get Sofia time!" she called back.

Her brother had been bothering her in the car – not letting her get a word in without an interruption because he was starting to realize that it got her all worked up – so Mark had promised her a few minutes of quiet play alone in her room, uninterrupted by the little guy.

"Your moms are on the phone!" he called back.

She was on the phone within no more than two minutes. She had bounded out of her room and down the stairs.

"Hi!" she said into the phone. "Is Faith's surgery done now? Can I see her yet?"

"It's not done yet," Callie said. "Alex just told us it's taking longer than they thought. So you might not come to the hospital tonight. Faith needs rest, okay?"

"No fair," she replied. "Pleeeaaassee?!"

"Tomorrow morning before school you can come," Arizona said, even though she knew this was before visiting hours. "Auntie Teddy'll help us sneak you in."

"I like bein' sneaky," she said.

"We know," Callie replied. "Trust us, we know."

"But you have to make a promise," Sofia said.

"What's that?" Arizona wondered.

"You _gotta _tell Faith I love her," she answered. "And tell her I made her a card that's pink and purple and sparklies. Her favourites."

"How do you know those are her favourites?" Callie asked. "They sound a lot like Big Sister's favourites to me."

"Every girl likes pink, and purple, and sparklies, Madre!"

"Not me," Callie said. "Not really."

Sofia gasped. "But they're so pretty!"

"I agree," Arizona said.

"Madre, but you say my pink and purples is always pretty when I colour."

"They are," Callie nodded. "'Cause you made them. And you remind me of Mommy with how much you love all of that pink."

Callie wouldn't mind one bit if Faith's favourite colour was pink as well. She was only giving Sofia a hard time. Really, she loved that her girls shared this connection and she half hoped Faith would too. She may not have liked the girlish nature of the colour herself, but she did love how much her wife and daughter enjoyed it together.

"Oh," she said. "Faith will like it."

"I bet," Arizona replied. "You made it at school?"

"It was my craft today," she said. "Because…for Faith."

"You're such a good sister," Callie replied.

"Then after that Lachlan ate my cookies," she said. "I hit him and then I had to go to the corner because I didn't use my words. But he had to because he stealed. Paisley said Lachlan's my boyfriend because he took my cookies. 'Cept I can't have a boyfriend until I'm married, Daddy told me today."

Despite the tension in the room and the fact that they still didn't have Faith back with them, they couldn't help but laugh at that one.

"Oh, Sof," Callie said. "We needed your silliness."

"He did! Really!"

"That works for me," Arizona agreed.

"And maybe I want a girlfriend," Sofia said. "I said that to Paisley. That some girls get girlfriends. Like my mommies."

"I don't think you have to worry about boyfriends or girlfriends for quite some time," Callie told her. "Don't worry."

"Yeah."

"But you had a good day. Other than the hitting?"

"Yep."

"Good."

"Call me when Faith's surgery is all done."

"Call you?" Arizona teased. "What? You got a boyfriend and a phone all in one day?"

"Mommy!" she giggled. "No! But I'm at Daddy and Lexie's house. Call them."

Alex appeared in the doorway. "We've gotta go, Sof," Callie said. "Talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"We love you, too," Arizona said, watching as Alex smiled. "Bye."

With that, Callie hung up. "So? Good news?" she asked.

"They're closing her now," Alex replied. "She made it."

"When can we see her?" Carlos asked.

"As soon as she's back in the N.I.C.U.," he said. "She's still receiving blood, though. Just so you know."

* * *

Faith looked pretty bad when they were finally able to go see her. Of course, she was intubated now and would be for a few days. They knew this would be the case, but it would never be easy to see a machine breathing for their child.

She wasn't very alert either. The only way they could be sure she was awake was because her blue eyes were open just a tiny crack.

Arizona kissed her forehead. "It's so good to see you," she said really softly. "That wasn't much fun in there, was it?"

"Tell Mommy. Say 'I was sleepin' and I don't know anything that happened.'"

"Thank God," Arizona replied.

"You're out now, though," Callie told Faith. "And the doctors are going to help you. Hopefully you start feeling a little better soon."

"Hopefully," Grandma agreed.

"And Sister said she loves you and she made you a card," Callie smiled. "How do you feel about pink and purple with sparkles?"

"Say 'I love 'em!'" Arizona told Faith.

Dr. Brady came into the N.I.C.U. a few minutes later. Alex had been giving them information, so he wasn't in a major rush to speak to them. First he wanted to give them time to see Faith.

"Do you have any questions?" he asked. "I know Karev was telling you things, but…"

"How much blood did she lose?" Arizona asked. "I'm guessing it was far too much since Karev won't say?"

"About half," he said.

"Of all of the blood in her body?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," Dr. Brady said. "The extra hands in there were perfect. We were able to move quickly and get her stabilized. The thing is that right now we have her on meds. to make her blood clot more quickly since she lost so much so fast."

"Do you think she has a clotting disorder?" Callie asked. "Please don't say we're dealing with that, too."

"No," he said. "That's not what happened. Her arteries are so small. One was nicked. It was a surgical error that shouldn't have been made, but I just couldn't avoid it. I did my best."

Clearly, they weren't pleased that this had happened, but they still had Faith and they knew that even the most talented surgeons made mistakes. They had done it themselves before.

"We know," Arizona said. "But now she's on those meds., and she's at higher risk for a stroke or –"

"She is," he agreed. "We're going to monitor her very, very closely. Doctor Karev has agreed to stay until he's assured she can be taken off of those particular meds."

"Okay," Arizona said, feeling better because she knew that Alex would do everything in his power to act quickly if something happened.

"Babies can have strokes?" Faith's abuelo asked.

"Yes," Callie said. "And if they do, they risk becoming very, very different babies."

It was starting to sink in that Faith's first surgery really was just the start of everything. They would never truly be able to stop worrying about her condition.

* * *

**I know this leaves a bit of a cliffhanger-like situation. Therefore, I will be updating again tomorrow :) **


	8. Leaving

Callie woke up in the on-call room closest to the N.I.C.U. on December twenty-third. Her wife was asleep beside her, so she didn't dare move. They had both had trouble sleeping since Faith's birth almost three weeks ago, but things had been especially tough on Arizona. She was no longer a patient herself, and hadn't been for some time, but she and Callie were practically living at the hospital still.

Callie picked up her phone and texted Mark to check on Sofia. They may not have left Faith yet, but they still saw Sofia almost daily when she came to visit. Even so, Callie was worried about their oldest child. Things had been alright when her grandparents had still been here, but over the last two weeks, Sofia seemed different. She needed her moms home with her.

It wasn't that Callie wanted to leave Faith. She was struggling with it, too. Luckily, she had been able to take Sofia home with her when she had gone home after the accident, but Faith would not be able to come this time. However, Callie knew that they had to find a balance that was better for the whole family. They would be at the hospital daily to see Faith, but they had to be with Sofia, too. Especially with Christmas just days away, it was time that they head home.

A reply from Mark saying that Sofia had already been begging him to come visit Madre, Mommy, and Faith this early in the morning confirmed this. He and Lexie had tried, but they just couldn't give her the normal life she was used to – with all of her parents parenting her - and it was taking its toll on the four-year-old now. Faith, on the other hand, was in the hands of excellent doctors who could continue caring for her just the same even if her Madre and Mommy were not right there around the clock.

Arizona woke up a few minutes later.

"Have you checked on her this morning?" she asked immediately as she kissed her wife.

"I've only been up for a couple minutes," she said, shaking her head. "But listen…"

"You want to go home, right?"

"Want? Not so much. No mom wants to leave their child behind. But Faith's not coming home for awhile, Arizona. Sof needs us now. She needs us home for Christmas. She needs to start living at our house again, too. We can be here with Faith a lot, still. We just can't be here constantly. It's wearing on us and on Sofia."

"What if something happens, though? I know Sofia's safe with Mark and Lexie. That's the thing. If we leave Faith, we don't know that something won't go wrong."

"We'd be a phone call away. And we can still come for visits every day. I'm not saying we have to stay away."

"I know."

"We've been lucky enough to get to stay this long. Most moms would have been sent home weeks ago."

"True."

"Can we spend Christmas morning with Sofia?" she asked. "It would make her so, so happy."

Arizona smiled. She was missing spending more than a few hours a day with the little girl. As much as she hated to admit it, Callie was right. They could visit Faith and provide her with everything she needed still, but they needed to start living again. Things wouldn't be the same until Faith could join them, but they owed it to Sofia to try.

"We've barely gotten her any gifts."

Knowing that Faith was due in early December, they had done some shopping ahead of time. There were a few things for each girl, but it wasn't even close to as much as they wanted to give them.

"Our parents did some more shopping while they were still here," Callie said. "And Mark and Lexie have helped out. Sofia insisted that they go over and decorate our house for Christmas, too. We hadn't had the time, but she said that Santa had to know we lived there."

She smiled.

"She'll never know that we didn't buy every single gift. She's not supposed to know that that's how it really works anyway. She'll just be glad to have us with her."

"Fine."

"We can go home today?"

"Today?"

"Is there really going to be a difference tomorrow, Mommy?"

"No," Arizona agreed.

"We aren't leaving Faith and never coming back. Promise."

"Karev better call us if she needs us."

Alex had been devoting plenty of his time to Miss Faith these days. He had stayed with her through those extra scary days following her surgery and he didn't really ever stop volunteering himself to be on the baby's case. He wasn't there every single day, but he was around often, which made her mommy feel a little better.

"He will," she said.

* * *

"How's Faith today?" Arizona asked her baby girl as they went to the N.I.C.U. after grabbing a quick bite to eat.

"She had a better night," Alex reported. "I think we might finally have all of those arrhythmias figured out now. She didn't have as many last night."

"Good," Callie smiled.

"But we weighed her this morning and she's only six fifteen."

It was normal for any baby to lose some weight after birth, but most babies would have gained it back by now. That hadn't really happened for Faith. Being intubated in the week following her operation had made it tough for her to eat my mouth again, so she had a feeding tube now. Yet, even that didn't seem like enough. She had gained back some weight, but not as much as they wanted her to.

"Still?" Arizona asked. "You've gotta put on more weight, Faith. Okay?"

"I think it's time to start supplementing with a high calorie formula. We can keep giving her your milk, but she needs more than just that."

"Yeah," Arizona nodded.

"Brady's going to come do an echo later today," he told them.

"Alright," Callie nodded.

"Overall, she hasn't done too bad," Alex said. "It hasn't exactly been great either, but she's hanging in there. I mean, the week after she was born, she fought off that infection like a champ and everything."

"I know we shouldn't ask this yet," Callie replied. "Because I know we won't like the answer."

"But when can she go home?" Alex guessed.

"We're going today," Arizona said, tearing up. "And I'm not sure how long we can last without her."

"You know I'm not the one who can say that," he said. "But I'd guess another week or two."

"We can handle that," Callie said. "With lots of visits and a Big Sister at home to keep us busy, we can handle that."

"We can?" Arizona asked.

"We want to be able to send every kid in here home for Christmas," Alex said. "But we just can't."

"We know."

"Hi!" they heard Sofia's voice exclaim behind them.

They turned to see their oldest girl and her dad standing there. Mark had a look of defeat on his face, suggesting that he had been unable to deny their girl's requests to come visit early on this weekend morning.

"A patient of mine is having complications," he explained. "She found out I was headed here and I tried to tell her she could come later, but…"

"It's okay," Callie said. "Go. She can hang out with us for a bit."

"And come back tonight?" she asked as Madre picked her up.

"Guess what?" she replied.

"What?"

"Tonight, Mommy and I'll be home."

"Yay!" she asked. "Faith goes home!"

"Well, not Faith," she said. "Faith's not ready yet. So we'll visit lots. But we miss you and we thought we should come home so that we can take care of you, too."

"Yeah," she said. "I miss Mommy braids. Lexie does braids, but they're not right. They're different."

Arizona smiled. "How about I give you a Mommy braid tonight? It's been awhile, huh?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Since Faith came."

"Yep."

"How is she today?" Mark asked.

"She had a good night," Callie said.

"Good."

"Daddy, you could go do work," Sofia smiled. "I'll be here with my baby sister."

"Okay," he smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Sofia sat with Callie and reached over to hold Faith's hand. She had said countless times that she couldn't wait to really be able to play with her sister, but she knew that holding hands, telling stories, and singing songs was pretty much the extent of her big sister duties right now, so she adapted pretty well.

"Faith can't go home for Christmas?" she asked.

"Nope," Arizona replied.

"Faith, Santa'll bring you presents here," she told her sister. "He knows where you are. Sometimes I'm at Mommy and Madre's and sometimes I'm at Daddy and Lexie's, but he finds me. He'll find you, too."

"Faith told Santa to send her presents to our house," Callie said. "She wants her big sister to pick a few to bring to help her open on Christmas day, okay?"

"What about the rest of 'em?"

"She'll open the rest when she comes home in a couple weeks," she explained. "Does that sound good?"

"'Cause she doesn't have a room to put all the toys in at the hospital."

"Right."

"I hope she can come home soon," she said.

"So do we," Arizona replied. "But Madre and I'll be home tonight."

"Good."

"What should we do?" Callie asked. "Watch Christmas movies?"

"No," she said. "Max likes Frosty too much. He _always _has to watch Frosty."

"You've had enough of Christmas movies?"

"Yeah."

"Should we make cookies then?" Arizona asked. "Maybe we can bring some to Faith's doctors and nurses on Christmas."

"That would be nice. Cookies are yummy."

* * *

Sofia really enjoyed making the Christmas cookies with her moms. She stayed up later than usual that night as they all had a snack and talked about every development in the four-year-old's life. She finally got her "Mommy braid," too, but she fell asleep on Arizona's lap just after it was complete.

"She's so happy we're here," Arizona said.

Callie had already called the hospital and gotten reassurance that Faith was doing okay. In fact, she was fast asleep as well.

"And we'll go see Faith when our parents get here tomorrow," Callie added. "After Christmas Eve with Mark and Lexie. Which isn't really Christmas Eve because Mark knows we want to spend it with both girls, so we're having a brunch. He already had the plans before we came home, and Sofia was excited about it, so…"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Okay."

"Does she seem so big to you?" Callie asked. "She's in whole new sizes of everything. Pants, tops, shoes…the kid shot up. We've seen her every day, so I guess I didn't really notice until I saw the size inside of her new shoes. I knew she'd grown, but…"

"We have one growing too fast, and one who we can't get big enough," Arizona said.

"She'll get there. The formula'll help."

"I know," she said. "I already miss her."

"Me too."


	9. Home Sweet Home

Christmas went as well as it could have, given the fact that a part of the family was still in the hospital. They made the best of it for their girls and Sofia had a great time, which helped to lift their spirits some.

The real celebration came about two weeks later when Mommy and Madre were finally able to bring their baby girl home. She still had her feeding tube and a lengthy list of medications that would make caring for her vastly different than taking care of most babies, but they didn't mind. They were getting good at taking things one day at a time and, today, they were grateful.

"You don't like the cold weather too much, huh?" Arizona asked as they walked into the house. "You're a winter baby, but today was your very first time outside! At a whole five weeks old. And apparently, you don't like the cold any more than your mama does," she added, kissing her. "That's my girl."

"What is this place, Faith Evelyn?" Callie asked, recording the moment as Arizona unbundled the baby. "Is this our house? You have a room here, toys, clothes, everything you need. You even still have Christmas presents left. Santa wanted you to finish opening those when you came home."

"Cool, right?" Arizona smiled. "First let's give you your medicine and some food, though. We can't forget about that!"

They went into the kitchen were Arizona put each of Faith's many different medications away. Being doctors would certainly help with this aspect of Faith's care, because they were already confident in their ability to administer the correct dosages and everything. For most parents of sick babies, this in itself was a major concern.

Callie put down the camera and took Faith from Arizona. "We don't need this part on video anyway, do we? It's not so fun."

"This one helps your blood pressure," Arizona said.

They knew that this was just the first of many, many doses of medicine Faith would need in her lifetime. It may have been too soon for her to understand just yet, but they did want her to know about her medical history and her needs as she grew, so they were already in the habit of explaining everything to her. They didn't want her to feel as though they were simply doing things_ to her_, but instead _for her_.

"Right now, that B.P.'s not bad," Callie said. "This one seems to work for you."

"Yep," Arizona smiled. "Ready?" she asked, before squirting the liquid into Faith's mouth via syringe. "Good job," she told her as Faith wore a displeased expression. That one's done. It's the only one for now."

"That face!" Callie replied, giving Faith a kiss. "You don't like that stuff very much, do you? But it does help. Dr. Brady put you on that new one last week and your B.P.'s been pretty good."

"We're so happy," Arizona said, with a yawn.

"You're tired?"

"I couldn't sleep last night," she smiled. "For a good reason this time. I couldn't wait to get her home already."

Faith's most frustrated crying began. "Oh, I know! We don't like that we have to give you all of those either!" Callie sympathized. "Let's get you a bottle, though. Then we'll set up the feeding tube because you need something to eat with your medicine."

They still tried to give Faith a bottle before every tube feeding, even though it wasn't her main source of nutrition these days. They figured that they had to keep trying and keeping her familiar with the bottle was the best idea.

"I'm making our baby a bottle at home," Arizona smiled as she began the task. "I know she won't take more than an ounce from it and we still have to do the whole NG tube thing, but still. Yay for normal mom things, even if they're not exactly the same."

"We just make the best of everything, right Faith?" Callie asked, giving her a kiss. "You might not like your medicine or your feeding tube or visits from the doctors, but that just means more opportunities for kisses and cuddles from your mamas and those are good, aren't they?"

* * *

"Hi, Pretty Faith," Arizona smiled as Faith studied her face while the little one was being tube fed. "You didn't have much interest in the bottle today, did you? Nope. You tried maybe four sucks and swallows and then you were all done. We like the NG tube because it helps you, but we hope you can do better with bottles at some point."

The high calorie formula and the NG tube were working well for the baby, but her weight was still somewhat of a concern. She had just surpassed her birth weight by two ounces yesterday.

"Sofia should be coming home soon," Callie smiled, looking at the clock to see that it was just after three o'clock now.

"She doesn't even know you're home," Arizona told the baby. "She'll be so happy!"

They hadn't been completely sure that they would be getting to bring Faith home today. It depended on whether or not Dr. Brady ended up being able to come to the hospital to officially discharge her. This meant that they had had to keep the possibility a secret from the big sister to avoid her disappointment. Now that they knew Faith would be home, Lexie was picking Sofia up from school and bringing her to Madre and Mommy's house for the surprise.

"She keeps telling us she wants you home," Callie smiled. "And you are!"

They knew that more surgeries and hospital visits were in Faith's future, but they were trying not to think about them for now. She was finally home after more than a month, making them very happy moms regardless of anything else.

"We should call Grandma, Grandpa and Abuelo," Mommy said. "They're waiting to hear if you're home with us or not."

"Let's call them," Callie agreed.

Arizona picked up her phone and called her parents. As predicted, her mother answered quickly on the second ring.

"Hello?" she asked. "Is she home?"

"She's home," Arizona smiled. "Brady came to discharge her around two o'clock."

"It's about time."

"Yeah," Callie agreed.

Faith started to fuss. She wasn't too upset, but she didn't like her feeding tube very much and she decided that her mommies needed to know all about it.

"Oh, what's the matter?" Arizona asked. "Are you trying to tell Grandma that you don't like that NG tube very much?"

"She's fine with it when it's not hooked up, but when she's using it, she gets mad after awhile," Callie said. "Huh, Baby?"

"Almost done," Arizona promised. "A few more minutes and you should be all done for a couple hours."

"How's bottle feeding going?" Barbara asked. "Any progress?"

"Not really," Arizona said. "But Brady wants us to make a speech appointment for her. Hopefully a speech therapist can help us teach her how to feed more effectively so that she starts doing better. We had to teach Sofia how to use a bottle too, but that just came with time as she developed. With Faith, she's actually not sure how, it seems."

"Oh."

"So we have yet another appointment to make," Arizona said. "That's three so far and it's the first day she's home."

"Three?" she asked. "You have the follow-up with Brady next week and now this speech one, but what else is there?"

Even though they weren't able to be there all of the time, all three of the grandparents were doing their best to stay up to date on how things were in Seattle. They called almost daily to hear how Faith was doing and to hear about all of the newest developments in Sofia's life, too.

"Well, my six week post-partum appointment," Arizona said. "It's for me, but still. We'll be busy."

"And I'll be back to work," Callie said.

"It's okay," she told her. "We'll be fine."

Caring for Faith required many things that caring for most babies did not. Therefore, Callie and Arizona had decided against daycare for Faith, opting instead to take back-to-back leaves from work. Arizona would be home with Faith for the next six months and then Callie would be with her for the six after that. When Faith was thirteen months old, they would reassess the situation and decide what was best for their family then. Chief Hunt had been understanding, so luckily no one had to give up their jobs permanently. Of course, they would have if they needed to, but it hadn't come down to that.

"I know."

Just then, they heard Lexie's car pull up in the driveway. They heard Sofia telling her little brother all about her day at school as they got out of the car.

"Mom, Sofia's home," Arizona said. "We've got to go."

"Bye," she replied.

"Bye," she smiled as they both hung up.

"Sister's here!" Callie told Faith. "And it looks like you're all done with this feeding, too! Should we disconnect this for you?"

"Mommy will," Arizona said as she did it. "There we go," she said, handing the little girl over to her madre.

Faith was still fussing just a little bit as Madre started burping her. "Shh…" she said softly, which seemed to help out. "It's alright. Let's be happy! You're home and Sofia's here and it's gonna be fun!"

"Hi!" Sofia called out as she, Maxwell, and Lexie entered the house.

"Come in the living room, Sof," Arizona smiled. "We have a surprise for you."

Sofia rounded the corner to the living room without even taking off her shoes or setting down her backpack. She loved surprises and she didn't want to wait. Little did she know just how big this particular surprise was.

"Faith!" she squealed with delight as she saw her baby sister propped up against Madre's shoulder. "Faith's home!"

"She is," Arizona smiled.

"You didn't tell me Faith was home!"

"We thought we'd surprise you," Callie said. "Is this a good surprise?"

"Yeah," she said. "Lexie!" she called to her step-mom, who was still taking Maxwell's little shoes off. "My sister came home!"

"I know," Lexie replied. "Daddy, Max, and I were in on the surprise."

"Can I hold her?" Sofia asked. "I _really _wanna hold her, Madre."

"Go in the kitchen and wash your hands first, please," Arizona said. "We have to be careful that Faith doesn't get too many germs."

"Oh."

Little Maxwell ran into the room to see what all of the fuss was about. "Are you excited too?" Callie asked him. "Sofia's sister's home now."

"Max, let's go wash our hands," Lexie said, picking him up. "You're gonna touch _everything_."

"No," he disagreed as he went with his mom and sister.

"Yep!" she laughed. "I know you."

He giggled.

When they returned to the living room, Callie was holding Faith straight out in front of her as she and Arizona watched her watch them. She wasn't quite smiling yet, but she was making adorable little facial expressions that they couldn't get enough of.

"Baby!" Maxwell exclaimed.

"This is Baby Faith," Arizona smiled. "She's Sofia's new sister."

"Can I hold her now?" Sofia begged. "Please?!"

"Have a seat," Callie smiled.

Once Sofia was seated, Callie handed Faith over after a reminder that she had to support Faith's head. Sofia had held her fair share of babies, so she knew how, but she still forgot sometimes.

"What do you think, Faith?" Arizona smiled as her wife went and got the video camera and began to record again. "Sofia's a pretty good big sister, huh?"

"Yep," Maxwell answered for her.

"She is?" Callie asked. "Good, 'cause now she's got a brother and a sister."

"Baby," he smiled.

"Can you say 'Faith?'" Lexie asked her son. "The baby's name is Faith."

"Baby."

"You're sticking with Baby, huh?" Callie laughed. "Okay, I don't think Faith minds."

Sofia hadn't been able to hold Faith at all in the hospital because all of the monitor leads and everything else that was attached to the infant just would have made it too awkward for the four-year-old. It wasn't so easy for the adults at times. Still, she had never stopped asking to; this moment had been a long time coming and Sofia was clearly thrilled.

"She's looking at me," she told them.

"She's pretty alert right now," Arizona agreed. "She fell asleep in the car, but she woke up when we took her out and she's been wide awake ever since."

"When she goes to bed, I'm gonna tell her a bedtime story," she decided.

Sofia couldn't read yet, but that didn't stop her from picking up a book and telling the story in it anyway. She had quite the imagination and she could usually create pretty entertaining, silly tales just by looking at the pictures.

"That sounds fun, huh Faith?" Callie asked.

"She's happy to be home, I think," Sofia decided. "'Cause the hospital wasn't very fun for her."

"No, it wasn't."

"Home is much better for little babies," she said.

"I agree," Arizona smiled.

"And later, I'll help her open her other presents from Santa," she told them. "'Cause she doesn't know how, so I'll do it and I'll show her. Like I did on Christmas."

"Alright."

"We have a Big Sister present for you, too," Callie told her.

Their littlest girl had been getting, and would continue to get, a ton of attention lately. They knew that having a second baby would involve having to figure out how to make sure no one felt left out, but Faith's condition tipped the scales even more in her favour. So far, Sofia was just happy to have a sister, but they didn't want the resentment to start.

"I like presents," she smiled. Her eyes grew wide. "Is it a puppy?!"

"Not this time," Arizona laughed.

"Faith told me she wants one _so_ much," she said. "And she was in the hospital for a long time. You should give us a puppy so she's happy."

"It's all about Faith, is it?" Callie smiled. "She came up with that idea all on her own? It had nothing to do with you, did it?"

Sofia blushed. "Well, I want one, too."

"I think we have to get used to taking care of two little girls," Callie said. "Puppies are a lot of work. Maybe when you're a little older."

"I'll be patient," she said. "If I _have_ to."

"Thanks."

"But Faith really does want a puppy," she said.


	10. Making It Through

Arizona found herself pacing back and forth in one of the rooms in Dr. Brady's office five weeks later. She and Faith were there for follow-up appointment number two. It was just a few days before the first one a month earlier that signs of yet another issue had appeared. Faith seemed to be experiencing extreme discomfort, but they couldn't be sure why. She was constantly fussy and obviously unable to tell them what hurt, so the educated guesses had begun.

They had suspected that it was a side-effect of one of her medications, but they didn't want to start changing any of those until they had ruled out other possibilities first. Faith had been trying a new formula and Arizona was even on a special diet in case something in her breast milk had caused this problem. There had been no change in the last four weeks, so this stressed out mom was hoping to find a different solution today.

"I know!" she sympathized with the now nine-week-old. "You were _finally_ getting some sleep and that nurse came to take your blood pressure. Mommy knows how hard it is to be woken up. You wake us up a lot. It's not your fault, but you do!"

She dug a pacifier out of the diaper bag and tried to give it to Faith. The baby still wasn't very good at even taking a bottle – though she was improving slowly – so it wasn't likely that she would take it, but Arizona couldn't resist trying. Hearing Faith cry so much really wore on the whole family.

"No?" she asked when Faith wouldn't take it at all. "Oh, Faith…"

Dr. Brady walked in.

"Faith, I hear you're still pretty unhappy these days," he said.

"This is _not_ colic. Sofia had really, really bad colic and this doesn't even compare," Arizona said. "We changed her diet – including mine because of the fact that I still pump a little – and that did nothing. Nothing that's supposed to help colicky babies does anything for her. At all. I know that some babies are just colicky and sometimes there's not much that helps, but this just can't be colic."

"Okay," he said in a tone that let her know that he was truly listening and was going to do whatever he could to help. "I think it might be the ACE inhibitor. It's known to cause a lot of side-effects."

"Right," Arizona said. "But the other one she was on wasn't working very well."

"Exactly."

"It makes me nervous to take her off of it because it works for her."

"I know," he agreed. "But I think switching her to one that's similar is probably best. We can monitor her B.P. and if it becomes an issue again, we'll figure it out. I don't want her in pain."

"Well, no."

"We'll see if that helps, huh Faith?" he asked as Arizona put her down so that he could do an echocardiogram.

Faith's cries only got louder as he looked at her heart. She had had enough of this appointment already. Luckily, Dr. Brady was not phased at all by this. In fact, it was very common for his patients not to be too impressed.

"I'm mean Dr. Brady, aren't I?" he asked. "Sorry! I'm just trying to look at your heart. A few of those valves could look a little better, but overall I'm happy."

"Yay!"

"How's bottle feeding going? She's still on the smaller side given her birth weight, but she's gaining. Slowly."

"Some days she does great. She's still only getting about an ounce by mouth at each feeding, if that, but she's getting faster at eating. So, the speech appointment did help. It's just that now that she's been so fussy all of the time, sometimes we can't get anywhere with that. I'll be honest. Yesterday morning's bottle feeding didn't work at all and I just couldn't bring myself to endure them for the rest of the day. Callie tried last night, but there are some days when I just can't try at every feeding. For the sake of my sanity."

"Understandable," he said. "The practice is good for her, but you're only human."

"Yeah."

"And you're doing pretty good considering everything, Faith," he smiled. "We'll get your medicines figured out and see if we can get you more comfortable, though."

"I really hope so," Arizona replied.

"Call me in two weeks if nothing changes. I don't want you having to wait a whole month again," he told her.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Stop staring at the phone," Mark told Callie he as found her sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch and willing her phone to ring. "Robbins'll call when they're done the appointment. She's not going to forget to tell you how it went."

"I know," she replied. "I'm just so anxious to hear what Brady said about her meds. We need to figure this out. We needed to figure it out a long time ago. Faith's in pain and we can't help her. Sofia doesn't get why she can't really do much with Faith, because all she does is scream. I come home from work to two cranky kids and a wife who has had the day from hell. Every single day. I have it easy. I get to come here and get a break, but –"

"Why don't you and Robbins go out?"

"And do what with the girls?" she asked. "Sofia can go to your place, but we can't leave Faith with just any sitter. We just can't."

"Faith's not my kid, but we could babysit," he pointed out. "I know she's not anything like most babies, but we could do it. We are doctors, Torres."

"But you've got Max, too," she said. "Playdates should be fun. Faith…I love her so much. I really, honestly do."

"I know," he nodded. "I'm not saying –"

"But 'fun' doesn't describe her. She's smiled twice. She's nine weeks and she's smiled twice. We know she can, so it's not a developmental thing, but she's just…never happy. She's either screaming or sleeping. At all times. Arizona and I barely manage to take care of two kids at the same time. You'd have three if we brought Faith over for a bit. I know you're offering, but you really have no idea how hard it would be. Plus, Sof needs a break just as much as we do."

"So, ask somebody else to take Faith. Karev, Altman…"

"I feel like we can't just ask. This isn't 'hey, hang out with my baby for a few hours, play with some toys and give her a bottle before bed.' It's a lot."

"When's the last time you and Arizona went out?" Mark asked. "I'm telling you, it helps. Since Max was born, Lexie and I have gone out at least twice a month. No kids. Before we started doing that, we were just…taking care of the kids all day and we had time for each other, but we needed time with no kids around."

"I get what you're saying," Callie said. "Really, I do. Arizona and I used to do that, too. Every time Sof was at your place on a Friday night. But now…"

"Hey Altman!" Mark said, calling Teddy over as she walked into the room.

"What?" Teddy asked.

"Do you have plans tonight?"

"No, why?" she asked.

"Can you watch Faith so that Callie and Arizona can have dinner and be able to hear the other person speak?"

"Mark, I said I couldn't just ask –"

"Sure," Teddy nodded. "What time?"

"Teddy, you don't have to –"

"I'm a Cardiothoracic surgeon. I can give meds. I can handle the feeding tube. I can tolerate the screaming for a few hours. Besides, I don't see that kid nearly enough."

"Well, you aren't going to be able to put her down the whole time."

"That's fine," she nodded. "Because I can go home to a nice bottle of wine at the end of the night. Sloan's right. I hate to say that, but he is. I know things have been…beyond hard since Faith was born."

"Thank you," Callie smiled, picking up the phone to text her wife about their sudden dinner plans.

* * *

"So, what did you do at school today?" Callie asked Sofia as she and Arizona got ready for their date night.

Faith was finally sleeping again, so the moms had taken this opportunity both to get ready and to spend a few moments focused on just Sofia. She had been as understanding as her four-year-old self could be, but she still craved their undivided attention. Letting her play with make-up while they did their own was making her so happy.

"We talked about healthy food and we got a snack to eat," she replied. "Some apples and yummy sauce."

"Do you know why we eat healthy food?" Arizona asked.

"It helps us be big and strong," she said. "Like have muscles and a big brain."

"You want a big brain?" Callie asked.

"Yep!" she said, smearing more eye shadow unto her face. "So I can do a job when I'm big."

"What job do you want to do, Sof?" Arizona asked.

This was always a fun question to ask her because her answers varied greatly. Sometimes she would say something like a teacher and other times she would decide that she wanted to grow up to be a fairy.

"A doctor," she said. "'Cause like…everybody is."

"You know a lot of doctors, huh? Me, Madre, Daddy, Lexie, lots of our friends…"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't wanna be the doctor who gives a shot though."

"I'm sure your patients would love that," Callie told her. "You'd be the busiest doctor ever. Lots of people would come to see you if you didn't give any shots, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "Mommy?"

"Yes?" Arizona asked.

"What's the kind of doctor who makes babies better?"

"It depends," she said. "But usually Neonatologists or Pediatricians."

"I wanna be one of those," she said.

"I'm one of those," she replied. "At work, I help kids. I'm a Pediatric surgeon. I do surgeries for them."

"Like Faith?"

"Faith has a Pediatric Cardiologist," Callie explained. "That means Dr. Brady takes care of her heart."

"Oh," she said. "Heart doctors are good."

"Auntie Teddy's a heart doctor. And Cristina, too," Arizona explained.

"I'll be one of them," she said.

"You will? You've got it all figured out, huh?" Callie asked. "Because we talk about Faith's heart a lot?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "And I know how to help. Sometimes I help give Faith a kiss after she has to get medicine."

"You do," Arizona smiled.

"Or I'll be a ballerina," she said. "They get to spin in circles."

"You can't decide between the spinning and the helping babies, huh?"

"I like both," she said. "I'll be a doctor ballerina."

"Who doesn't give shots," Callie added.

"Yep!"

Arizona took off the third dress she had tried on. She hadn't gone out like this since she was pregnant and none of her pre-pregnancy dresses seemed right to her now. She really didn't think she would care about her body changing, but she just wanted to look her best for her wife tonight. Lately she had been lucky to be able to shower, so she needed to feel good for this dinner.

"That one looked good," Callie told her. "Put it back on."

"Really?" she asked. "I didn't still look pregnant?"

"You looked great," she smiled. "Blue looks great on you. With your eyes."

"What do you think, Sof?" Arizona asked.

"I think you look pretty all the time," she said.

"Aw!" she said, giving her daughter a kiss. "Thank you. I needed to hear that today. I didn't feel very pretty today. Faith and I had a hard day."

"You and Faith are both pretty," she said. "She's just like you but tiny."

She smiled. "And you're just like Madre but tiny," she told her.

"I'm big."

"Well, not as big."

"Yeah," she said. "And nobody looks like Daddy."

"Max does a little bit," Callie said.

"Not me."

"Nope," Arizona replied. "Madre and I got some pretty girls, huh?"

* * *

Teddy arrived about twenty minutes later just as the two wives were finished getting ready. Arizona had texted her telling her not to knock because the baby was asleep, so she just came right in.

"Auntie Teddy!" Sofia yelled out when she realized it was her.

"Inside voice," Callie reminded her. "Sister's having a nap."

"Oh yeah."

Teddy came into the room. "Hey Sof," she smiled.

"We get to play today," she said. "'Til my daddy picks me up."

"I know," she smiled. "I'm excited. What should we play?"

"We should watch a movie."

"Sounds good."

"Are you sure about this?" Arizona asked.

They knew that taking care of Faith was a challenge and they didn't want their friends to feel obligated to help them. They knew that most of them were capable, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still difficult.

"Very," she nodded. "It's one night for me. You've done this day in and day out for awhile now."

"Auntie Teddy…" Sofia said.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"My sister doesn't eat dinner. She gots a tube for her food. It's gross."

"I know."

"You gotta hook it up for her."

"I will."

"Good," she said. "It's so icky, but it helps Faith."

Considering her age, Sofia had a good grasp of what Faith's needs were. She knew that her sister didn't like any of her medications, but that they were helping her heart. She understood Faith's feeding tube and liked to tell her parents – and now her aunt – all about how most of Faith's food didn't even go in her mouth. She didn't really understand why the baby was so irritable, but she did try to help make her feel better.

"Auntie Teddy'll take good care of Faith," Callie assured her.

"Yeah."

* * *

They were thoroughly enjoying their dinner. The place was quiet and their little booth at the back added perfectly to the romance they were aiming for. The steak dinner was delicious and Arizona even allowed herself a glass of wine since she figured that she didn't _have_ to feed Faith any breast milk from tonight. She more than deserved a nice red wine and she was going to enjoy it.

"I'm so glad we did this," she told her wife as she gave her a kiss.

"Me too."

"Listen!" she said. "There's no crying baby here. Amazing, isn't it?"

"I feel like I should be home more," Callie replied. "I've always known that people who say stay-at-home moms don't work were crazy. You work just as hard as I do, probably harder. And I'm working such long hours, but I get to leave work. You don't get to have breaks often enough."

"No," she agreed. "But you love your job and I love that you love your job. It's important, too. You're home as much as you can be. I know that."

"Still," she said. "When I'm home, you should be able to get out more. I should've told you to go do something while I watched the girls. I never have. I knew you were getting so burnt out, but I didn't –"

"Calliope, when you're home, I want to see you as much as the girls do," she smiled. "I need time with you, too. And we need family time. If I want to get out of the house, I'll tell you. For instance, I might start telling you that we have to do this more often. Now that we know Teddy's so willing to babysit the

She smiled. "Sounds good."

"And hopefully the change that Brady made today works," she added. "Because the poor baby's been so upset for weeks now."

"Can you imagine if we actually got to sleep for more than forty-five minutes at a time?" Callie asked. "Just that alone would change so much. And if she was a calmer baby –"

"I want to know what her real personality is like," Arizona said. "She was probably a different baby in the hospital. Half of the time she was on at least some sort of sedative. And then she started screaming, and screaming, and screaming when we brought her home. I want to get this whole thing sorted out just so we can learn who she is. I want to know what her favourite toys are…all of that. Right now, she doesn't really pay attention to any of them. She's hurting."

"Yeah."

"Do you ever wonder why us?" she asked. "Don't get me wrong. Nothing could make me trade those kids for the world, but why'd we have to go through two N.I.C.U. stays and have a baby who's never going to be healthy?"

"We just got the special ones," Callie smiled. "I honestly believe that we got them for a reason. I don't really know what the reason was, but healthy babies who just do what they're supposed to when they're supposed to weren't in the cards for us."

"I know."

"A patient asked me if we were going to try for a boy at some point the other day," Callie said. "That whole concept seems completely ridiculous to me. For one, why do we _need_ a boy?"

"We don't," she agreed. "I love having two girls."

"Me too," she nodded. "I always pictured myself with boys, but…no."

Before finding out about Faith's condition, there had been some talk of having three kids, but it wasn't in the cards now and that was okay. This was the first time that they had ever talked about it, but both of them had decided long ago that Faith would be their last child. Her medical needs were a lot of work and they just didn't feel like they could adequately parent any more children. Plus, it just felt like that would be tempting fate too much. Sofia was healthy now, Faith would live with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome forever, and they had learned that they simply couldn't expect a third baby to be healthy. They thought Faith would be and she wasn't.

"Did this patient know that Faith has H.L.H.S.? And what that means for her? I mean, we're so, so, lucky she's even still here. Why would we already be thinking about another baby?"

"No, she didn't. I tend not to tell people too often when they ask because then I just get the 'I'm sorry' reaction. And yes, it's not something we wanted her to have. I hate that she has it. But she's still our baby and she's not any less perfect to us."

"Nope," she agreed. "And we get to celebrate even more things. When most kids take a bottle, it's no big deal. When Faith does, it's huge."

"Yep."

"We've made it two months," Arizona said. "We can do this, right?"

"We can," she nodded.


	11. The Joy In The Dread

"Can I wear it to school today?" Sofia asked as she ate breakfast one day about two months later.

She was referring to a necklace that she had just received for her fifth birthday that weekend. After hearing her beg and plead for weeks to wear the matching necklaces they had, Callie and Arizona had given their daughter one of her own. She was still too young to wear it daily, though. They had tried to explain to her that she could only wear it for special occasions. The problem was that she considered today a special occasion because they were having a little birthday celebration for her at her preschool.

"Sofia, that necklace isn't like any of your other ones," Callie tried to tell her as she fed Faith her morning bottle.

"It's prettier."

"And it costs a lot more money. Little girls don't wear those kinds to school. Not preschool anyway. Most little girls your age don't even _have _necklaces like that."

"If Mommy and Daddy and Lexie says yes, could I?"

Sofia knew very well that her parents made some decisions as a group. She was already learning that getting most of her parents to agree could work, even if one of them said no.

"Sofia, we talk about big decisions like what school you go to and things like that. Not things like if you get to wear a necklace. You know that. If we say no, it means no."

"Fine."

"The four of us are getting new family pictures taken next weekend. You can wear it then to look really nice, okay?"

"Okay!"

Faith finished her bottle. After a few more speech appointments, her ability to take a bottle had gotten even better. As a result, she was able to have her feeding tube removed two weeks ago. She still wasn't an excellent eater, but she seemed to be putting on more and more weight these days. It took a few extra visits, but Dr. Brady had also determined which of her medications had been causing her to be so uncomfortable. He took her off of it and Faith suddenly became a much happier child.

"Was that good?" Madre asked as she smiled after she was burped. "Wait until you're ready for solids. That's the really good stuff."

"Don't tease her," Arizona said, coming into the room. "We have no idea when solids'll be an option for her. She's four months and most babies have the Glenn between four and six months of age. After being intubated for the Norwood it took us so long to get her to take only a bottle. Introducing solids will be…"

"Is this why you were tossing and turning last night?" she asked, handing the baby over. "Because you know she'll be having the Glenn soon?"

"Brady said he'd probably have a date for us at today's appointment. He just wants to take another look at her heart to make sure that's the best time to do it."

Even though this month had been a good one for Faith, they couldn't help but look into the future. The feeding tube and the hospital wouldn't be gone for long. Faith would have to have the second procedure – known as the Glenn – sooner rather than later. They were grateful for her progress, but it felt like they would only be taking giant steps backwards when she had to have the next surgery.

"We all made it through everything after the Norwood. We'll manage. I don't really like to think about it either, but…"

"The doctor knows what medicine makes Faith cranky," Sofia said. "She doesn't gotta take it no more. Don't worry."

"We know," Arizona said, unable to keep a smile off of her face as the baby smiled up at her. "Good morning! Did Madre give you your morning bottle again? Yeah. You like your time with Madre in the morning before she leaves for work, huh?"

"Faith, you're gonna visit my school today," Sofia told her sister.

Arizona was going to drop off cupcakes for Sofia's little party on the way to Dr. Brady's office. If Callie had time afterwards, Mommy and Baby were planning to stop in for lunch so that they could tell her all about what Dr. Brady said. Now that Faith was a more content baby, outings like this were possible and Arizona loved them.

"Do you think that'll be fun?" Callie asked the four-month-old.

"They should have school for babies," Sofia said. "So Faith could go."

"They have daycare," Arizona replied. "You went when you were a baby and Max still goes now, Silly."

"I know," she said. "But why not Faith?"

They found themselves walking a fine line with questions like these. They wanted Sofia – and eventually Faith – to understand the needs that came along with Faith's diagnosis, but they wanted to be careful to avoid making her seem too different from anyone else.

"Daycare teachers are busy taking care of lots of babies and Faith needs a lot more than some babies do. Mommy and I just think it would be best if she stayed home with Mom because it's just better for her," Callie explained.

"Oh," she said. "But it's fun."

"She'll go to school one day," Arizona said. "For now, I think she likes staying home."

"Good, " she said. "Could I play with Faith before school?"

"Sure," Arizona decided, putting Faith down in her bouncy chair. "That would be nice, actually. Madre can get ready for work and I can get dressed while you play."

"I'll take care of Faith," she said. "Just not if she poops."

"Leave her in her seat, okay?" Callie asked.

"I know."

Arizona kissed both girls. "You two have fun."

"Okay Faith," they heard Sofia say as they went upstairs. "Now I'm gonna dance for you. Smile if you think I'm good at dancin'."

Of course, she would. Lately Faith was really starting to take notice of the things her big sister was doing. She was her favourite source of entertainment.

Arizona smiled. They may have had a tough time so far with Faith, and they may have been very nervous about putting her through additional operations, but none of that mattered in moments like this one. Right now, they simply felt lucky to have the family they did. Their daughters were so good at living in the moment. Maybe they could learn a thing or two from them.

* * *

The appointment with Dr. Brady went just as they expected it to. He was glad to see that she was now a much happier little girl and that she was doing well without her feeding tube. However, he did suggest that they do the Glenn procedure sooner rather than later. He didn't see the point in waiting. The first surgery may have helped Faith's heart function, but it didn't fix every problem. There was still more work to do and he suspected that Faith would start to encounter more problems if they waited, since she would be growing that whole time and her heart may not hold up so well.

"Hey," Callie said quietly as she walked up to Arizona when she arrived to the hospital to have a quick lunch with her wife. Faith was asleep in the wrap the blond was wearing, so she was careful not to wake her. "So, the twenty-fourth, huh?" she asked, referring to the text that she had received as soon as Dr. Brady had set the date.

"Yep," she said. "I knew it would be soon. I had a feeling based off of her heavy breathing and how her circulation's been lately. Her hands and feet are _always _cold. I knew Brady hadn't been too happy with those symptoms. I didn't think he'd wait until six months. But still. Three weeks. That seems like…not enough time."

"Nope," Callie said. "But what would be enough time to prepare for that?"

"True."

"I already told Hunt the date and he said that it's not a problem. The same person who replaced me when she was born is still available. He just wants me to let him know when I expect to be back, based on how things go. Obviously I can't say that beforehand, but he does have to give my replacement some kind of notice."

"Right."

"Part of me wonders if you should just come back after she's home and all of that and if I should start my leave then."

"We could do that," Arizona agreed. "She'd be a little younger when you came back, though. And what if her recovery takes longer? I don't want to even think about other childcare for her until we know she's not still healing. I don't want to make arrangements and just hope it works out. If you come back to work for a little while after the surgery and then take your six months of leave, it gives us just that little bit of extra time to figure out what will be best for her."

"I guess so."

"And Hunt's understanding," she said. "So I say we stick to the plan. We don't get to plan much, but we can control when we both come back. Thankfully."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Want some lunch?"

"Hospital cafeteria food? I'm so excited," she joked as they walked.

"It's better than eating with Sof," she said. "I have nothing against peanut butter sandwiches. They're good. But they're all she eats. We've got to get her to at least try something else."

"Definitely," she nodded as Faith stirred. "Oh, did we wake you up?" she asked, taking her out of the wrap. "Look! It's Madre!"

"Hi!" she smiled, taking the baby. "Did you come see me at work? I have some time before I have to go fix Mr. Holden's hip. Yep! I have to use pins and screws and all kinds of hardware to make sure it doesn't pop out of the socket again."

Faith's eyes grew wide as she listened to her madre.

"Do you think that's cool?" Arizona laughed. "Madre's really good at it."

"I'm surprised she was sleeping. Usually she gets worked up at her appointments. I know she's not nearly as fussy anymore, but still."

"She was. She fell asleep in the car. Both times today, actually. She was even sleeping when we went to bring Sofia's class the cupcakes."

"Oh."

"And all of Sofia's friends wanted to say hi, of course. Which Faith loved once she woke up, but I can't say I was such a fan of their germy little hands. I know we can't keep either of our kids away from _all _germs, but I really want to try."

"Yeah," Callie smiled. She felt much the same way, even if it wasn't exactly in line with the way that they typically tried to parent.

Arizona took a deep breath as they walked into the cafeteria. She knew they weren't ready to practically live here again in a few weeks when Faith was hopefully recovering. There would be nothing enjoyable about that or about not being home enough for Sofia. Still, they had to make the most of the next three weeks. The dread was certainly there, but they couldn't afford to be miserable until April 24.

Plus, the kids made that pretty hard. Right now, Faith was smiling at her mommy, completely unaware of anything else that was going on. Arizona simply made a silly face right back at her.


	12. Healing

It had been four days since Faith had undergone the Glenn. She had had a blood transfusion, she had been intubated, and she had been on so many medications, which left her out of it most of the time, but she was still doing decently well. Things could have been much worse.

Still, her moms were exhausted. They had been by her side the whole time, only leaving the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for short periods of time, usually to go get food, to go to the bathroom, to call Sofia, or to keep the grandparents – who hadn't made the trip this time – updated. It had been a very long for days.

Arizona's phone rang, waking her up. She and Callie must have fallen asleep early, because none of the late shift's nurses were around yet. After four days, they were willing to sleep whenever they got the chance, even if it was still only nine o'clock.

She kissed the baby before leaving the room so that she could talk without disturbing Callie or Faith.

"Hi, Mom," she answered.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Faith's doing well. Her circulation is improving, her B.P.'s been…not great, but alright, she's only had a few arrhythmias today, so Brady might be getting them under control…"

"Good," she said. "Are you sure you don't want us to come? I know she won't be discharged for about a month yet, but your father and I would stay as long as it –"

"We'd still be exhausted," Arizona yawned. "You'd be here, but we wouldn't be able to leave her. Not yet. It wouldn't really give us a break, and Sofia's with Mark, so she's taken care of. Mom, we don't want to have you two or Calliope's dad uprooting your lives when nothing can change. You were here before, but that was also to meet her after she was born."

"I know."

"We're not saying we don't want you here," she said. "Just…it's hard and there's no point in it being hard for all of us. Calliope and I have each other. We're going to be okay."

"Good," she said. "Give my grandbabies kisses for me."

"I will," she promised. "Faith had her eyes open for quite awhile today. Maybe for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, but she opened them a few different times."

"Good."

"She's yet to become alert enough to discover that she's intubated, which is actually good. We don't want her getting too worked up about it, because her stats'll –"

"Yeah."

"But at the same time, I can't wait to see her breathing on her own," she said. "The most I can do is kiss her and rub her hands and feet. We want to be able to hold her. She's in pain, but we can't do much for her."

"She knows you're there," Grandma said.

"I know," she replied. She saw her wife wake up back in the room. "Mom, Calliope just woke up. I should go."

"Okay, bye. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

Arizona came back into the room to see that Faith was also awake now. The sedatives may have kept her pretty out of it, but they could tell that she still was in some pain. There was fear in her eyes where there was supposed to be joy.

"Hey, Beautiful," Arizona smiled. "Grandma called to check on you. I told her 'Faith's doing pretty good right now!'"

Callie gave the baby a kiss. "You're such a brave girl," she told her. "We're so proud of you."

Arizona kissed Faith's little hand. "That's a kiss from Grandma. She told me to give you and Sister kisses. We'll have to save Sister's, right?"

"Yeah," Callie said. "She asks about you, though. When we called to say goodnight earlier, she wanted to know if you were sleepin'."

"You were," Arizona replied. "You do lots of sleeping, right?"

Tears began to well up in Faith's eyes. "We know," Callie said, kissing her again. "This is scary, huh? We know. We're right here. It's going to be okay."

Alex came in to check on everyone's favourite little patient. He was supposed to be heading home, but he always stopped by to check on Faith just one more time before his shifts came to an end.

"You're lookin' around, huh?" he asked. "There's nothing very exciting to see in here, is there?"

"Now that you're awake a bit more, maybe we should bring you some of your musical light-up toys to see when you wake up," Callie said. "What do you think?"

"You're still lookin' good, Faith," Alex told her after he did a quick exam. "Decent stats, no signs of infection…"

"Pain control is a bit of an issue."

"I know," he said. "But she's got so many drugs on board already that…"

"Yeah."

"At this point, we should just be thankful that she's not constantly awake to feel it as much," Callie said. "Which sounds terrible, but…"

"It's the truth," Alex said.

* * *

As expected, Faith dozed off shortly after that. Her moms took advantage of this time and slept some more themselves. Nurses were coming in throughout the night to check on Faith, so they didn't get any uninterrupted rest anymore.

"Callie," she heard some time later when she awoke again.

She realized that Lexie was standing beside her chair. It wasn't uncommon for her and Mark to come see Faith and bring the moms some coffee in the mornings, but this seemed like a different type of visit. They had never woken them up.

"What?" Callie asked, startled. "What's wrong?"

Lexie handed her a coffee. "It's Sofia. She's okay. Mark's got her at home, so don't worry."

"But what?" she asked. "What time is it? Why isn't she at pre-?"

"She's been having nightmares," Lexie said. "Every night since the night of Faith's surgery. She hadn't been wanting to tell us about them and we didn't force her to. We'd just get her settled and she'd go back to bed. But last night she refused. She slept in our bed with us because she didn't want to go back to her own room, and she finally told us her bad dreams are about Faith. She wouldn't say what happens in them, but they obviously freaked her out."

"Yeah."

"Mark thinks coming for a little visit might help," she said. "For her to see that Faith's still here and that the doctors are helping her get better. If you don't think that's best then we won't bring her, but…"

"It's just…what if that makes it worse? What if seeing Faith like this just makes her nightmares even more scary?"

"We know," Lexie said. "We were talking about it all night. It's a risk. I'm sorry to wake you up like this, but –"

"No," she replied, taking a sip of the coffee. "Thank you. We needed to know this." She decided to get Arizona's opinion. "Arizona, wake up."

"What?" Arizona asked as her eyes opened. "What's going on?"

"Sofia's been having nightmares about Faith," her wife explained. "Mark and Lexie think she needs to see her, but what if that makes them worse?"

"She's seen her in here before," Arizona reasoned. "We weren't planning on letting her see her while she's intubated, but they have a point. If we try to explain what she'll see before she sees it, that should take some of the fear out of it. And she can see that Faith came out of surgery okay and all of that. Honestly, she's been kept away, so she may not believe us."

"I hate that our five-year-old even has to consider that," Callie said.

"Yeah," Lexie nodded. "Mark and I have been trying, but she just…she wants everything back to normal."

"We all do."

"Bring her later today," Arizona decided. "Just…try to prepare her as much as possible."

"I'll tell Mark," she said. "He stayed home with her because she barely slept, so hopefully they'll get some sleep and then come."

"Okay."

"Is there a time that's best for Faith?"

"Not really."

"How was her night?"

"Good."

"Good," she smiled.

* * *

Mark and Sofia arrived around two o'clock that afternoon. Even though he had tried to explain to her what it was that she would see, their daughter still seemed nervous. She was saying that she wanted to visit, but she didn't seem to know what to do.

Before washing her hands with her, Mark knelt down in front of her, to let her know that she didn't have to do anything she didn't want to here.

"If you want, you can just visit with Madre and Mommy," he said. "I'll sit with Faith so that she has company, but if you'd rather just spend some time with your moms, that's okay too. Faith will understand."

"I wanna see Faith, Daddy," she said.

"Okay then," he nodded. "Let's go see her."

"She still got a tube in her froat?" she asked.

"Yep, the tube is still in her throat," he answered as he helped her wash up. "We talked about that. Can you tell me why she has that tube?"

"To help her breathe," she said.

"Right."

"Why she can't breathe?"

"She's still working on getting better," he simply answered. "But until she can, that tube helps her. They won't take it out until she's ready, okay? The doctors know when."

"So she can breathe good."

"Yep," he nodded. "And what else will there be in there?"

"Those beepy machines," she said. "I 'member those."

"What do they do?"

"Tell how Faith is."

"Do they hurt her?"

"Nope."

"Right."

This little talk seemed to reinforce everything for her. Once they were done washing their hands and getting their gowns on, Sofia confidently walked into the room.

"Well, look who it is," Arizona smiled.

Faith had just woken up, as if she knew that her sister would like to see her as alert as possible.

"Sofia and Mark came, Faith!"

"I bringed you stuff, Faith," Sofia smiled.

On their way to the hospital, Sofia had mentioned that if _she_ were in the hospital, she would want some new toys. Mark texted Callie to ask if there was anything Faith would enjoy. Once he had an answer, he took Sofia to the store where they picked out a fuzzy pink and white blanket and a new musical toy with lights that Faith could look at when she was awake.

Callie picked Sofia up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I've missed you, Big Girl."

"I know," she said.

"We're happy to see you," she added.

"Daddy said I didn't gotta go to school today 'cause I was too sleepy."

"Sometimes it's okay to take a day off," Arizona said. "Did you rest?"

"And watch movies," she nodded.

"Good," Callie said. "Faith rested today, too."

"Restin' helps."

"It does," Madre nodded. "Do you want to show her her presents?"

Sofia went over and gave Faith the things she had picked out. Mommy helped lay the blanket over top of the tiny girl and Sofia showed her how the new toy worked. It played five different children's songs, and the big sister had to show the baby each one. Luckily, Faith stayed awake just long enough.

"Now she thinks it's sleep time 'cause those were sleepy songs," Sofia decided.

"You can still hold her hand," Arizona said. "She'll like that."

She looked up at Callie, as if she wasn't sure.

"Go ahead," Callie nodded. "It won't hurt her."

Sofia held the little one's hand.

"Are you glad we came to visit?" Mark asked.

"Yeah," she said. "When does Faith go home?"

"Not for awhile," Callie explained.

"I'll come visit lots, 'kay?"

"Sure."

Arizona smiled. Faith may have been the one recovering, but this visit was good for everyone. Their girls got to see each other and they got these few minutes as a family. In a way, this visit had provided the healing that everyone needed. There was still a long road ahead, but this was great.


	13. Good Times

The next few weeks, and even months, were long and hard, but they made it through them. Faith had experienced many complications – some expected and some not – but she was doing pretty well now for the most part. She was now ten months old and she had come a long way since those first few days after the Glenn.

"What's got you all fussy?" Callie asked, running her hand through the little girl's blond locks as Faith started letting her discontent show.

"She just wants to play outside," Sofia decided.

Callie, who was now the stay-at-home mom since Arizona had returned back to work a few months ago, was waiting with both of the girls for Faith's appointment to begin. Needless to say, it wasn't going so well. Faith had learned that nothing too fun ever happened at this place, so she was upset before she even saw the doctor. Sofia wasn't too impressed that she had had to come along, since she was supposed to be spending the day – her first weekday off from Kindergarten since she had started – collecting the gorgeous Fall leaves with her dad in order to make some sort of craft with them. Instead, Mark had been called in on an emergent case, and she was stuck at her sister's cardiologist's office.

"Sofia, what did I tell you?"

"We'll go get leafs later," she said. "But Faith's doctor takes so long. Is he even here yet?"

"He is," she nodded. "I promise. And they're called _leaves_," she corrected. "One leaf is a leaf. More than one are called _leaves."_

"That's what I said," she insisted. "How much more minutes 'til we go?"

"How about you get a book out of Faith's bag and read it to her?" Callie asked, now holding the fussy baby on her lap. "There's one about Halloween in there, I think. Halloween's coming up. Tell Faith about it."

Sofia went into her sister's diaper bag only to discover that the book was a sensory book for a baby or toddler. Callie assumed that she would still get a kick out of "telling" her the story as she often did at home, but the five-year-old was less than impressed.

"This is for a _baby_!" she complained, now whining because nothing was going her way today and her five-year-old self was having a tough time handling the disappointment.

"Remind me to thank all of your other parents for their dedication to their jobs," Callie said. "This is working out well for me."

Of course, she wasn't completely serious. She knew the life of a surgeon well and sometimes the hours just weren't predictable. Still, her job wasn't going so well at this current moment.

"I don't wanna read a baby book," she said. "Madre, I go to big school now."

"What do you want to do then?" she asked. "I put some crayons and a colouring book in there for you. How about that?"

Before Sofia could answer, Dr. Brady opened the door and walked in. He could tell by the looks on everyone's faces that today wasn't exactly going well.

"Rough day?" he asked Callie.

"You could say that," she said, as she handed Faith over to him.

He was certainly used to upset kids, so her crying hardly even fazed him. Usually, his patients just wanted their appointments to be over as soon as possible.

"Your big sister came to see how your heart is today, too, huh Faith?" he asked.

"'Cause Daddy had to work," Sofia said.

"I was working with your mom on Tuesday and she told me that Faith's doing well and that you love your new Kindergarten class."

"Yep," she said. "But today's a day off."

"Those are fun, too."

"Not today."

"Sof, we'll have fun later. Promise," Callie said.

"Good."

She was watching closely as Dr. Brady took some notes in her baby sister's chart. He had just listened to her heart with his stethoscope, which she also seemed interested in.

"Doctor…?" she questioned.

"Yes?" he smiled.

"What are you writing on that paper?"

"Just that Faith's heart sounds pretty good," he said.

"Good."

"Any concerns?" he asked Callie. "You and Arizona know what to look for, so…?"

"Her breathing still gets heavy at times," she said. "I know it might just always be like that, but when she's crawling around she gets out of breath really easily."

"That's not uncommon," he said. "Crawling's not easy for such a little girl. As long as it's not extremely heavy breathing, it's to be expected. Don't stop her from exploring. My experience is that that never works and it usually just does more harm than good. Keep an eye on it, but…"

"Yeah."

"Her weight hasn't changed from last month," he noticed. "Normally, I wouldn't be too concerned, but she's always been on the light side, so I was hoping to see her gaining. How's feeding going?"

"She's just not a big eater," Callie said. "I don't think it has anything to do with being able to eat, though. I think her meds. might be suppressing her appetite."

"That's possible," the doctor agreed. "Keep an eye on it and keep trying to get her to eat as much as you can."

"Maybe Faith just wants yummy stuff," Sofia said. "Like candy."

"I think she might be just a little too young for candy," Dr. Brady smiled. "But I bet she'll share when you go trick-or-treating this month."

"Yeah."

"Do you and Faith know what you're gonna be for Halloween?"

"Faith's gonna be a princess," she said.

"And what about you?"

"I'll be a girl who has a puppy," she told him, as if it were obvious. "And a ballerina."

"A puppy owning ballerina, huh?"

"Yep," she said. "And Max wants to be a truck. Only he can't say truck, so he says –"

"Okay," Callie cut her off. "Remember how we talked about how we can't tell that story because it's not a nice word, even though Max doesn't mean it?"

"I think he should be a puppy, too."

"You do, huh?" Dr. Brady asked.

"Doctor, are you almost done?" she questioned.

Her curiosity over what was going on in Faith's appointment had worn off now. Even though Dr. Brady was trying to engage her in conversation to keep her entertained, she had had enough already.

"Not quite."

Faith's crying seemed to get louder at this very moment.

"I'm sorry!" he replied. "You and Sofia both want me to hurry, don't you?"

"Are you hurtin' her?" Sofia wondered.

"Nope," Callie assured her. "She's just not very happy."

* * *

Despite the crankiness, Faith's appointment went well. Both girls were back to their happy selves soon after that, and Sofia got to go to the park to collect leaves for her art project. They had done it at school last week and now she wanted to do it again.

"Look, Madre!" she smiled as she held up a leaf that she found particularly pretty.

"Cool," Callie replied, trying to stop Faith from putting a leaf that Sofia had just handed her a minute ago straight into her mouth. "No leaves in the mouth."

"It's not food, Faith," Sofia explained.

"Everything goes in Faith's mouth, food or not," Callie said. "Right, Faith Evelyn?"

Sofia put her latest leaf into the bag and went back to collecting more. Callie was glad they had done this. It was such a simple thing, but Sofia was having a blast. Little Faith was enjoying the fresh air as well. There were days as a stay-at-home mom that Callie didn't feel very good about her abilities, but this was a success. Both girls were happier now and they had gotten out of the house, too.

It was then that she received a text back from her wife. She had sent her one all about how Faith's appointment had gone, but Arizona hadn't gotten a chance to respond until now.

"Mommy says she's happy that your heart is doing good," Callie told Faith, giving her a kiss.

Faith clearly wanted down; Sofia was playing on her own, so she wanted to be allowed the same luxury. Callie finally caved. Giving Faith toys and letting her play with a leaf every now and then just wasn't cutting it. Now that she had finally mastered crawling, she wanted to be on the go.

"You're gonna get so messy," Callie said, as she put her down.

They were still worried about germs more than they would be if Faith didn't have her heart condition, just because things would get more complicated when Faith came down with something. However, they also didn't want to shelter her too much. Other children – including her sister – got to explore outside, so they felt like they should let her do the same. Obviously she would be keeping a close eye on the baby, but Callie couldn't keep her from playing.

Faith pulled on the grass and was surprised when a few pieces of it came out in her hand. She laughed.

"This is fun, isn't it?" Callie smiled.

"We should do this with Mommy," Sofia suggested. "And Daddy and Lexie and Max."

"They've all been working a lot lately, haven't they?"

"Yeah."

"Tonight you and Faith are both going to Daddy's, okay?" Callie asked. "Maybe you can do something fun with them."

She had checked with Mark and he was sure that these plans, unlike the ones for the rest of the day, could still happen.

"Faith comes, too?" she asked, quite puzzled.

"Daddy and Lexie are going to babysit Faith so that Mommy and I can have dinner," she said.

Now that Faith was easier to care for, the three kids loved playing together and Callie and Arizona no longer felt like they were burdening Mark and Lexie with all of Faith's needs.

"You have dinner a lot."

"Only once a month," she said. "We love you, but sometimes we need mommy time. Just like sometimes you need big girl time where you don't play with Faith and Max."

"And you and Mommy get pretty so you think each other is so, so pretty?" she smiled.

"We do."

"You think Mommy is pretty 'cause you love her and you got married."

"That's why, huh?"

"Yeah," she said. "When people are married, they think each other is pretty all the time because they're special."

"Because Mommy's special to me?"

"Yeah," she said, as she watched her sister pick up a leaf. "Faith got one!"

* * *

Arizona was glad that her girls had had such a fun day together, but she wished she could have been there instead of at work. Luckily, all of her patients were doing well and she was home about twenty minutes earlier than she had expected to be, since there were no complications to deal with.

She arrived home to find them watching a movie. Sofia had popcorn and Callie was sitting on the floor with Faith, trying to trick her into swallowing just a few extra bites of her pureed carrots. She hadn't eaten very well at lunch, so Callie was hoping that some of this snack would make it's way into her stomach. So far she wasn't having much luck. Faith crawled away.

"No?" she asked.

"Faith Evelyn, you're so stubborn!" Arizona smiled. "It's yummy."

"You think mashed up carrots mixed with breast milk is good?" Callie asked. "Part of me doesn't blame her."

"And saying that can't help," Arizona said, bending over to kiss both Callie and Faith, before finally going to kiss Sofia. "So I hear you had fun at the park."

"I got leafs and then we made pictures with them," Sofia smiled.

"Fun."

"Faith gets to play at Daddy's tonight."

"I know she does."

Faith started babbling a nonsensical string of happy sounds.

"What?" Callie asked. "Are you excited for some playtime at Mark and Lexie's? Are you gonna play with Sofia and Max?"

Just then, Faith pulled herself up to stand at the edge of the couch. This was all that her tiny baby legs could manage, but it was still a pretty big milestone. For a minute, nobody said anything, as if it took them a few extra seconds to realize that Faith was slowly starting to become even more mobile.

"Look at you, Big Lady!" Arizona smiled, pulling out her cell phone to record a quick video of the moment. "What did you manage to do, Faith? Ten months old and pulling up to stand. You may not have a healthy heart, but you're not letting that stop you, are you?"

"Faith could walk now!" Sofia exclaimed.

"Not quite _walk_," Callie corrected. "But close!" She kissed the back of Faith's blond head. "Good job!"

Faith looked up at Mommy as if to say that she wasn't sure what should come next. She wasn't capable of taking any steps yet, so she was basically just stuck standing there.

"You're standing on those big girl feet!" she smiled. "Yay!"

Faith seemed to forget that her hands and arms were stabilizing her and she fell back down to the ground, landing on her diaper padded bottom. She burst into tears, not because she was hurt, but because she was frustrated and startled.

Callie picked her up and sat her down on her lap. "It's okay," she said. "You'll get better at it. But you did it! I think somebody's gonna be walking by their first birthday."

"We'll see," Arizona said. "Right Faith? But speaking of first birthdays, we really should start thinking about what to do when we both go back to work. I know she'll be thirteen months, but we both know that time will fly. The only time that doesn't is the time we spend in hospitals and she's doing well so there shouldn't be any of that."

"Right."

"And I don't want to think about it, but I also don't want to not think about it and run out of time to make the best plans."

"I know."

"I was thinking that a nursing student or a med. student taking night school classes would be best. They're always looking for jobs and if we can find one who's good with children and has enough medical knowledge that we know she'd be okay…"

"You have someone in mind, don't you? Did you meet someone today?"

"No," she said. "But I can't imagine putting her in a daycare where they have other kids to watch, too. And germs. Not that I'm saying they wouldn't try to make sure that Faith got her meds. and everything, but this isn't cough syrup. These are serious meds. that they might not feel comfortable with. When they aren't comfortable, mistakes happen."

"And a med. student is comfortable?"

"At least they know what the meds. are."

"True."

"So is that the plan?"

"I guess. We still have time, though."

"I know we do," she agreed, looking up at the clock. "We should get ready for tonight."

"But Faith just wants to practice standin'," she said, letting her youngest child go again. "And she's so much more fun!"

"Yeah," Sofia agreed.

Arizona smiled as Faith crawled back over to the couch and attempted to pull herself up again.

"Come on!" she encouraged. "You can do it."

Faith sat down and smiled up at her mom.

"Not right now?" she asked. "Silly girl!"


	14. New Normal

As Arizona predicted, the next few months flew by. The little family had a great Halloween, a relaxing Thanksgiving, a fabulous first birthday for Faith, a merry Christmas, and a wonderful new year's celebration, but soon it was time for Madre to return to work.

They did end up hiring a nursing student named Emily. She was halfway to earning her degree by taking night school courses and she had just recently lost her job at a children's play place due to the fact that it went out of business. Her grades and a few interviews with her told them that she could handle the medical aspect of Faith's care, while her job experience suggested that she was good with young children. Of course, they had interviewed many people for the position, but she was the front runner from the start.

"Faith, are you excited to play with Emily today?" Callie asked the now toddler.

She wasn't too excited about this change herself, but she couldn't show the kids that. If she and Arizona acted like Emily's presence in their lives was anything but good, they would pick up on that and the transition wouldn't go well.

She smiled.

"Can you say 'yes, Madre?'" Arizona questioned. "Use words, Big Girl."

Unlike her big sister, Faith was no chatterbox. She did say a few words – yep, no, hi, Sof, "'Ma" for Madre, and Mama for Mommy – but getting her to speak felt like pulling teeth some days. She much preferred to keep to herself, which surprised everyone given how friendly she was otherwise.

She said nothing, but her grin grew.

"We wanna hear words!" Arizona exclaimed, beginning to tickle the little girl.

"Yep!" Faith practically shrieked with joy.

"Do I get to play with Emily?" Sofia asked as she came to the breakfast table.

The girls had both met Emily during her last interview. Callie and Arizona were fairly certain she was the best person for the job, they had let her play with them a little to see how they all got along.

"After school," Callie answered. "She told us she has an art project she thinks you'll like to do."

"Yay!"

Callie laughed.

"Come here, Faith," Arizona said, as she got Faith's morning medications ready for her to take.

"No," she refused.

"Oh, we can say that no problem, huh?" Callie asked.

"No."

"I know you don't like medicine and it's not so fair, but you need it. Mommy and Madre'll be so happy if you take these," Arizona said.

Being a pediatric surgeon, she thought she knew all there was to know about giving a child medication. They had survived many a cold and flu with Sofia and the medicine battle was always won by Team Mommies. However, Miss Faith Evelyn Torres put up quite a fight. They understood completely. She was being asked to take more medication than any little girl should ever have to and she was starting to get old enough to know what was happening and test her parents. Still, they couldn't give her much choice.

She started crying.

"We'll be quick," Arizona said, going over to her and holding her on her lap.

She snuck the first one into her daughter's mouth and, luckily, Faith swallowed it. This wasn't the case every day, but today things were going well.

"Good job!" she praised, making a big deal out of this compliance. "Faith's such a good girl for medicine time. Let's take one more," she said quickly as she administered the next one.

Callie could tell that Faith was contemplating spitting this one out.

"Swallow, Big Girl," she said, trying her best to be stern, yet compassionate if there was such a tone.

"Yay!" Arizona cheered when the second medicine was swallowed. "Faith's the best medicine taker today!"

The tiny girl clapped for herself.

"Now you get a sticker!" Big Sister added, getting in on the daily praise.

They doubted that Faith really understood a reward system yet, but they were going with it anyways. They had gotten the idea when Mark and Lexie had started sticker charts for Sofia and Max over at their house, in order to encourage them to keep their rooms tidy. After a certain number of stickers they would get a special surprise of some kind. Sofia did well with it, so the chart became a fixture in the Robbins-Torres household, too. Faith was a bit young for any real responsibility, so her stickers came when she took medication without too, too much fuss or when she went to a doctor's appointment. Eventually, she would understand that she was being rewarded for these specific things. They hoped that this would make her more willing to put up with everything that she had to due to her illness.

"Would you like to come pick one?" Arizona asked, letting the baby girl down off of her lap.

"Ick," Faith said, making a face as she followed Mommy over to the sticker stash.

"Want a drink?" Callie asked. "Those taste bad, don't they?"

Arizona gave Faith some juice in her cup before they chose a sticker to add to Faith's chart. "Faith got a sticker for taking her meds. There."

"Faith gets so many stickers," her sister said.

Sofia was definitely aware that the things that Faith had to do to earn stickers were much simpler than tidying a bedroom. Therefore, Callie and Arizona had been finding other opportunities to reward their biggest girl as well.

"So do you," Callie defended. "How many did you get just yesterday?"

"Three," she said. "One 'cause I helped Mommy put napkins on the table for dinner, one 'cause I helped Faith reach a toy she likes, and one 'cause my teacher said I listened good at school."

"See?"

"Soon I get a surprise?"

"Soon."

"Could my surprise be a puppy?"

Sofia hadn't let up about this. Little did she know, now that things were going well for Faith, Callie and Arizona were finally giving the dog thing some real consideration.

"I was thinking something a bit smaller," Callie laughed.

"No fun."

Arizona looked at the clock and realized that they were running behind.

"We'd better eat breakfast, Faith!" she said. "We're almost out of time!"

"Today you both got to work?" she asked.

"Yep," Callie nodded.

"And Daddy and Lexie?"

"Yes."

"Everybody hasn't goed to work in a long time," she said.

"I know," she said. "But Emily's going to take care of you and Faith now, so we can."

"And the people you fix are happy?"

"What do you think?"

"I think so," she said. "You can make them better."

* * *

Luckily, Callie's first day back was a relatively busy one; she didn't have time to check in until about quarter after noon, when her wife informed her that she had just called home. Faith was just fine and she and Emily had had a fun morning.

"Good," she replied.

"I did not," she said, stealing a bite of the Latina's lunch as they spent a few minutes together.

"Why? What happened?"

"I have an H.L.H.S. case," she said.

"Somebody else…anybody else couldn't have taken it for you?"

"It's fine," Arizona said. "It happens. I'm a doctor and it just happened to happen to our baby."

"You want to talk about it or…?"

"The parents were all set to start all of the surgeries and all that right after birth. Brady's their doctor actually. Now they're having second thoughts."

"As in considering compassionate care?"

To be honest, this was never something that Callie and Arizona had considered. As soon as they met Dr. Brady, they put their trust in him and knew that he would do the best he could for their child. If anything, they wouldn't have continued the pregnancy only to watch their baby die, but even that didn't seem like the right option for them personally. Clearly, the path they took was the right one for them, since they had an amazing kid who had overcome so much to show for it. Faith wasn't out of the woods completely, but they had gotten to have her for thirteen months now and they were grateful.

Yet, Arizona did understand the choice that her patient's parents were thinking about. Not one of the three surgeries was without tremendous risk, and now that they saw their son they just didn't know if they could put him through them without any guarantees. Plus, even with the surgeries and the medications, people with the condition were still very sick and not promised a good quality of life. These parents were considering putting their baby boy at ease and just having him for what little time they had, instead of taking a gamble with his life. This route was just as valid a choice as the other.

"Yeah," she said. "And maybe they're right. Maybe it is for the best. But I can't help but think about what it would be like if we hadn't had the last thirteen months. Sure, we've been to hell and back, but I wouldn't trade Faith for the world. Not that I'm saying that these parents don't adore their son. Of course they do, but just…the memories of Faith…"

"We did what was right for Faith and they'll do what's right for their baby," she said. "But I'm sorry that you have this case. And that the family is dealing with this."

"It's one of those days where all I want to do is go home and hug our kids."

Callie smiled. "They're pretty great."

"Yep."

"And it does feel good to be back," she added. "Even if I miss being at home so much."

"Good," she said. "I'd say you'll get used to it, but did we ever with Sofia? No, not really. It still sucks when we have to tell her we can't do something because we're working. More than sucks. It makes me feel like a horrible mommy."

"Which you are most certainly not," Callie promised her. "You know that. But yeah, I get what you mean. Though, telling Sof no at any time sucks. I swear if we don't get her a dog soon, she'll lose her mind."

Arizona laughed. "I was thinking about that earlier," she said. "Valentine's day is coming up. I was thinking we could give it to the girls as a family present."

Although Valentine 's Day was a romantic day, they did try to make it special for their little ladies, too. Especially now that Sofia was older, crafty little valentines were exchanged and everything.

"A dog for Valentine's day? It's not a birthday."

"Would you like to put up with a whole extra month of the begging?" she pointed out.

"Excellent point."

Arizona's pager went off. The brief moment of joyful planning for the newest – albeit furry – addition to their family was over.

"You can get through today," Callie told her. "No matter what the parents decide. They'll make the best choice for their son and you'll do everything you can to support it. Then we'll go home and give our kids some giant hugs and kiss them until they can't take it anymore."

"I know," she said. "I just wish that no parents ever had to even consider these choices."

"We all do."

* * *

After weighing the options, Arizona's patients' parents did decide to give surgery a chance.

"Hey, Baby Girl," Arizona smiled as she took her from Emily at the end of her long day. "Did you have a good day with Emily?"

"It was great," the nanny replied. "She fell and scrapped her little knee chasing after her sister about an hour ago, but other than that, she was all smiles."

"And she took all of her meds.?" Callie asked.

"Like a pro," she answered.

"Good," Mommy said, giving Faith a kiss. "And how was big sister's day?"

Sofia was working on a puzzle that she and Emily had started a few minutes ago.

"Emily's so fun," she commented. "We made a craft and now we're doing this puzzle. It's of a bunny rabbit. They're cute. Paisley has one at her house."

"I see," Callie replied.

"I don't got any pets," she said. "Just Max and Faith."

They all laughed.

"Did you just suggest that your brother and sister are almost like pets?" Callie asked.

"No," she said. "But Paisley has two sisters _and_ a bunny!"

"Jealous are we?" Arizona asked. "Sof, I don't think we need a bunny."

"Fine."

They knew that if they left it up to Sofia, they would be starting quite the collection of animals. Granted, a rabbit would be smaller than a dog, but they were still only going to give in to the dog request.

"It's time for Emily to go now," Callie told the kids. "Can you say bye? She'll be back tomorrow."

"But we aren't done the puzzle," Sofia replied.

"You're doing great," Emily said. "I bet you can take it from here. Or maybe your moms can do it with you if you ask."

"After Faith goes to sleep?"

Sofia quite enjoyed the extra few minutes she had with her moms all to herself after Faith was asleep. They never did anything too exciting, but it was still nice.

"Sure," Arizona said.

"Did you make people better at work?"

"I did a surgery for a little boy with a heart just like Faith's."

"What's his name?"

"Sebastian."

"Like Little Mermaid?"

"Yeah."

"I like that guy."

As Emily left and the four of them sat there talking about their days while dinner was in the oven, Callie took a moment to take it all in. She knew that more hard times would come someday, but for now they were getting to be just like any other family. She loved the new normal that they were finding and she felt so lucky to have them all.


	15. Hershey

**Thanks for all of the amazing reviews on the last couple of chapters! I love them and I'm so glad you are liking this story so much.**

* * *

"Are you ready to meet the girls, Hershey?" Arizona asked the newest member of the family – a six-month-old chocolate lab – as she and Callie welcomed her home.

The pup had received her name at the Humane Society thanks to her colouring and her sweet disposition, but it was also pretty fitting for the fact that she was going to be a Valentine's day surprise. Emily and Faith had left to go get Sofia from school; meanwhile, Callie and Arizona had just brought Hershey home. Sofia thought that they were working, so she had no idea what was about to happen.

"Sofia's been asking for you for years!" Callie said. "She's going to be so happy! And Faith'll think you're pretty great, too."

The door opened and the sound of these new people coming in caught Hershey's attention right away. She headed towards the door with Callie and Arizona following after her. Callie was recording the moment, because she knew that the girls' reactions would be priceless.

"A puppy!" Sofia exclaimed. "Hi, Puppy!"

"Her name's Hershey," Arizona replied. "She's _your _puppy, girls."

"Yay!" she squealed. "Finally I got a puppy!"

Her excitement caused Hershey to get excited and jump up on the five-year-old. She began licking Sofia's face.

"Down, Hershey," Callie ordered, stepping in to get the dog to comply.

She wasn't hurting Sofia, but if she did the same thing to Faith, some serious damage could be done. Plus, they wanted to train her so that they could have people over without her jumping all over them, since some people didn't take so kindly to that.

"She was giving me kisses!" Sofia giggled.

"She was," Arizona laughed.

"I love her!" she replied, petting her now as she licked her knee.

Sofia's reaction was obviously a joyful one, but Faith didn't seem to know what to do. She wasn't scared or anything, but she just hadn't been around very many dogs. She didn't really know how to interact with this new friend.

"What do you think, Faith Evelyn?" Arizona asked.

"Give Hershey pets," Emily told her, showing her how. "Look. Hershey likes this."

"When her tail wags, she's happy," Sofia explained.

Faith reached out and, of course, put her fingers near Hershey's mouth. The workers at the Humane Society had told Callie and Arizona that she was a gentle dog, but they clearly still had to teach Faith that that was not the best idea.

"Pet Hershey's back instead," Arizona said, taking the little one's hand and running it across the dog's fur. "Say 'Hi, Hershey!'"

"Hi," she smiled. "Oooo!" she squealed at the feeling of the puppy's fur.

"Is Hershey soft?" Callie asked.

"We really could keep her?" Sofia asked.

"Yep!" Arizona smiled. "She's your Valentine's present from Madre and I."

"Thank you," she said. "She's the best present of my whole, whole, whole life!"

"You're so welcome."

Faith kissed Hershey's back. She clearly approved of her first ever pet.

"She's a nice puppy, huh?" Emily asked.

"Faith, say 'Hershey,'" Sofia told her. "That's her name."

* * *

The girls spent the rest of the afternoon playing with their new dog. Of course, they had to teach Faith that Hershey's toys were not hers, since they were at the perfect toddler level and therefore, kept almost making their way into Faith's mouth. Other than that, introducing the kids to the dog and the dog to the kids was going reasonably well.

"Girls, it's time to eat," Arizona told them when dinner was ready.

Not surprisingly, neither one wanted to stop playing with Hershey. Callie had to go over and pick Faith up, as well as sternly remind Sofia of the family rules three different times.

"But why can't I eat later?" she asked as she finally came to the table.

"Because this is when we have dinner," Arizona said. "And Dad and Lexie are bringing Max over to play with Hershey after dinner."

The ladies knew that by bringing a new dog home today, they were giving up on any romantic Valentine's Day plans. It just wasn't going to happen, but the happiness it would bring their daughters made that okay. Plus, there would be plenty of time for romance once the kids were asleep. However, they were taking Max for a few hours so that Mark and Lexie could go out.

"When I go to Daddy's, can Hershey come, too?"

They knew this question was coming. In fact, they were surprised that it hadn't come sooner. If she didn't even want to leave Hershey so that she could eat, she certainly wasn't going to want to leave her when she went to her other house.

"Well, she's Faith's puppy, too," Arizona said. "So she's going to stay here. But you'll still see her a whole bunch, right? Even on Daddy's days with you, you end up over here a lot."

"Not if Faith goes to the hospital," she said. "Then I don't come here for a long time."

Before getting the dog, Callie and Arizona had discussed this with Mark and Lexie. Faith had at least one major hospital stay ahead of her, if not a few, and they knew that they were hardly home during those times.

"When that happens, Hershey'll go to Daddy's," Callie explained. "But we don't have to think about that quite yet, okay?"

"Okay."

Faith rested her little head down on her highchair tray. It never took much for her to get worn out, and she had spent a large part of the day chasing after a puppy.

"Can you eat?" Arizona asked. "Faith, you need some food in your belly."

"No," she refused.

"A few bites?" Callie negotiated

"No," she said. "Nigh' night."

This was her newest word, but it was never used in this context. Usually she was trying to get out of going, instead of begging to be put to bed before her bedtime.

"Night night?" Arizona asked. "How about a few more bites of food and then night night?"

"You don't want to play with Hershey?" Sofia asked.

"I think Hershey wore Faith out."

They did put Faith to bed after she ate just a couple bites of her dinner, but she didn't exactly sleep soundly. At first they thought she was fighting sleep because Max was over and the dog was exciting, but even after Max went home and Hershey and Sofia settled down, Faith was back up and fussing.

"So much for our Valentine's day," Arizona said as she sat in Faith's room rocking her back to sleep.

"Oh, well," Callie said. "There's always tomorrow."

"Yep," she smiled. "And Friday. No kids, no work, no nothing."

In exchange for their babysitting Max tonight, Mark and Lexie had agreed to babysit Faith on Friday, when Callie and Arizona had the night off. Sofia would be at Mark's place all weekend as well, so they didn't really care if their Valentine's Day wasn't full of romance. It was coming.

"For a few hours, anyway," Callie said. "Faith won't sleep there."

"Still."

"Mama," Faith said.

"What?" she asked.

"Nigh' night!" she whined.

"You just woke up again," she told her. "You were going night night. Then you told me you wanted up."

"Oh."

"Do you not feel good or something?" Callie asked.

"Does something hurt?" Arizona wondered.

Every time that Faith's behaviour was even a little out of character, they assumed the worst. The surgeons in them told them that this probably wasn't a good thing, but they couldn't help it. As mommies, they worried.

"No," she answered.

"Did you just get too worked up today and now you can't sleep?"

She placed a kiss on the little girl's head.

"Nigh' night."

"Okay, let's try nigh' night again," Arizona said. "What's up with you, Faith?"

* * *

**I know that this chapter was on the shorter side, but I promise that the new few chapters will be a lot longer. This just needed to come first.**

**Also, for those of you who read my story, "I Wanna Grow Old With You" more will be coming soon!  
**


	16. Worries

On Friday, Arizona stood outside of the N.I.C.U. watching Baby Sebastian's mom sit with him. It had been six weeks since he had undergone his Norwood procedure, but he had experienced plenty of post-op complications.

"You ready to go?" Callie asked, coming up behind her.

"Can you go drop the kids off at Mark's first?" she asked. "I'll pick up dinner."

Unlike most of their kid-free nights, they weren't planning to go out this time. No, tonight would be spent in bed with a pizza, much like some of their best dates back before they were moms. The nights out were great, but what they needed now was a night in.

Callie kissed her.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

She could tell that her wife was deep in thought. When she noticed Sebastian and his mom, she knew why. Even though Arizona tried not to let herself get attached to her parents or their families, she couldn't help but feel drawn to him.

"He had a rough day," she replied. "His dad's at work still and I'd kind of like to just keep his mom company until he gets here. I will be home. Promise."

"Okay," she said, giving her wife one more kiss before she left.

"Bye."

With that, Arizona went and scrubbed in so that she could go sit with Sebastian and his mom, Wren. She had fought the urge to share the story of Faith's journey with the family for the entire time that she had known them, which was a few months before their little boy's birth. She hadn't out of fear that bonding in that way might cloud her professional judgement. Yet, in this moment, she saw a mom who needed to relate with a mom who had been in her shoes before. She had been treating Sebastian since birth and she had been able to stay professional. She doubted that talking to Wren like this would change that very much at this point. She just wouldn't let it, she decided.

"Hi," Wren said, looking up when she saw her walk in.

"Hi," she replied. "Can I sit? I know Darren's not off work yet, so I thought I'd keep you company."

"Most of his pay is based off of commission," she said. "If he doesn't work, we don't make money and with the hospital bills…"

"You don't have to explain," she said. "I know you both are doing the best you can."

"Thank you."

"Can I tell you something?" she asked.

"What?"

"My youngest has H.L.H.S., too," she said. "Diagnosed at sixteen weeks gestation."

"Really?" she asked, clearly surprised.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Her name's Faith and she's fourteen months now."

"And how is she? Medically?"

"Good," she answered. "She still has one more surgery ahead of her, but she's doing great now. She's had her fair share of post-op setbacks, but Dr. Brady got us through them. There were days when we didn't think we could do it either," she added, guessing that's how she felt right about now.

Wren and Darren knew enough to understand that they couldn't possibly compare Sebastian's case to any other they heard about. Just because another baby lived or died didn't mean that their's would, too. Arizona wasn't worried about giving them false hope because she was confident that this wouldn't happen. All she wanted them to know is that all of the feelings they were feeling were normal and even okay.

"No one's ever told me that," she said, tears filling her brown eyes.

"What?"

"That they've felt that and gotten through it," Wren explained. "Our friends…they don't know what to say. They've all had healthy babies. Of course they feel for us, but they don't understand what it feels like to not be able to take it for one more day."

"You'll find the strength," she told her. "I don't really know how because I'm sure how my wife and I did it, but you will. Moms are really good at that somehow. It's like a superpower. And moms with sick kids are even more awesome. At least that's what I like to think."

"I definitely don't feel like I've got super powers. My son's six weeks old and I haven't gotten to hold him once. He's barely even had his eyes open, so I'm not totally sure what colour they are. I think they're blue, but still. What kind of mom doesn't know the answer to that question?"

"My other daughter was born extremely premature," she said. "She couldn't open her eyes for a while. So that's a feeling I know very well, too. But I'm sure that whatever colour eyes he has, they're the most gorgeous one's you've ever seen. I know my Sofia's are. Faith's are too, but I think I'm biased because they're mine."

"You've really hit the jackpot, huh?" Wren asked.

She meant that sarcastically, since both of Dr. Robbins' children had such traumatic beginnings to their little lives. If she had any emotional energy left, she would have pitied the doctor, actually.

"I have," Arizona said, seriously though. "Sofia's done so well. She's almost six now and nobody'd ever know that she was once a micro-preemie. And Faith, well, we both know that nobody with H.L.H.S. will ever be exactly healthy, but she's done well."

"I needed to hear that," she said. "I know that doesn't mean that Sebastian will be okay too, but at least it feels possible again. I sit here, and I sit here, and I sit here. After enough of this, I kind of forget that the goal is to get him out of here at some point. That seems like that's asking far too much when I can't even hold him."

"Keep hoping," she told her. "A few minutes at a time. That was our little family motto. We couldn't measure time in days or weeks because that felt far too overwhelming, but we could handle minutes."

* * *

"Faith, tell Madre we've got it covered," Mark said, picking up the tiny blonde when Callie arrived with both girls.

As usual, Callie felt the need to make sure they knew of every recent development in Faith's care. She would only take her blood pressure medicine if they didn't let her see it first, since she seemed to hate its taste more than any of the others. If she gave them a hard time eating her dinner – which she had to or else her medications would cause her to have stomach pains - nothing but a game of peek-a-boo using her favourite blanket, during which they snuck in bites of food, would do the trick these days.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just worry."

"We know," Lexie replied. "But we'll be fine. She'll have fun. Right, Faith?"

"Yep," she smiled.

"See, Madre?" Sofia said. "Daddy and Lexie know how to take care of Faith, too. She likes them."

Callie kissed both of her girls.

"Buh bye," she said, as Faith blew one back. "How am I supposed to leave when you're being so awesome?"

"Go," Mark smiled. "Seriously. She'll be fine. We've kept this one in one piece for almost six years, have we not?"

"Excellent point," she agreed. "Okay, okay…"

"Madre, you and Mommy should call and say goodnight tonight," Sofia requested.

Sofia was very used to the custody arrangements that her parents had. After all, she had never known anything different. However, she still made this request from time to time. When Mommy and Madre or Daddy and Lexie had been working a lot lately, she seemed to miss them more than usual. Of course, as long as they weren't busy saving lives, they were more than happy to make these calls.

"We're coming to pick up Faith," she said. "We'll say goodnight then."

"She could sleep in my bed," Sofia offered. "I'll make sure she doesn't fall out."

"Thanks, but I think she's more comfortable in her crib."

"Okay."

"So, I'll see you later."

"Bye."

"Thanks again," she told Mark and Lexie.

"No problem," Mark said. "Max loves having somebody younger than him around. It keeps him out of trouble."

"Except that now Faith's old enough to get into trouble of her own," Callie said.

"You?" Lexie asked as Faith giggled. "Never!"

* * *

Arizona yawned as she arrived home much later than expected. It was ten o'clock now. After she had sat with Sebastian and his mother for a while, she was getting ready to leave when another Peds. patient coded. They had managed to save her life, but now Arizona found her wife fast asleep on the couch. She had tried to wait up, but the quiet in the house had caused her to drift off.

She awoke just as the blonde set the pizza box down.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Arizona smiled.

Usually, calling Sofia that – or even Faith now – caused giggles. However, her wife's face fell.

"I ruined our night, didn't I?"

"No, some very sick little girl on the Peds. ward did that for the both of us," she said, giving her a kiss. "I had to stay late. I'm sorry."

"What time is it?"

"Ten 'o four."

"Did you pick up Faith?" she wondered.

"Karev gave me a ride home," she said. "I didn't have the carseat."

"Right."

"Plus, I thought you would have."

"I was asleep."

Arizona dug out her cell phone and dialled Mark and Lexie's number. Yes, she was risking waking the kids up, but she wanted to offer an explanation as to what had happened.

"Hey, Robbins," Mark answered, after seeing the number come up on the call display.

"We'll come get Faith right now," she told him. "I ended up working late and Calliope fell asleep, so…"

"It's okay."

Arizona could hear familiar cries in the background. Faith was clearly not a very happy girl.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," he said. "Sofia's still up, too. Callie promised that she'd come back to say goodnight so she's insisting she wait up."

"Why didn't you call Callie?"

"I tried."

"Oh."

"I just assumed you two were having a really good time or something."

"Not so much, but neither are you."

"Not exactly."

* * *

Max was the only one asleep when they arrived. Sofia was doing everything she could to fight sleep as she sat on Daddy's lap. Faith was wearing a pink pair of pajamas that they had found from when Sofia was that size, but she was anything but relaxed. They explained that they had tried to lay her down on their bed with pillows to keep her from rolling off, but she wasn't having it.

"That's not your bed, huh?" Callie asked as she took her from Lexie. "You didn't want that one?"

"Go up to bed, Sof," Arizona said, giving her a kiss. "Goodnight."

"At Daddy's house, Daddy and Lexie has to say that," she said, not even sure herself why she was resisting now.

She had seen her moms now and that should have been good enough. Maybe she was just so sleepy that she was going to fight everything at this point.

"We have!" Mark laughed. "Many, many times."

"And I'm Mommy _everywhere_," Arizona smiled.

"Goodnight, Sofia," Callie said as she finally went up.

"Goodnight," she said. "Goodnight, Mommy. Goodnight, Faith."

"Goodnight," Arizona replied.

"Be quiet when you go up," Mark warned. "Your brother's asleep. I'll be there to tuck you in in a sec."

"Okay."

"Oh, Faith!" Arizona said as Faith's cries only seemed to get louder. "I know you're sleepy, but you're just at Mark and Lexie's. You like them!"

"She was like this before she even got tired," Mark said. "All three kids were playing and all of the sudden she just started screaming. At first we thought Max or Sofia had done something to her, but it didn't stop."

"Emily was saying that happened the other day, too," Callie said.

"And other than when she's had surgeries or issues with meds., she's never been like that. She's usually happy. You guys should've had us come get her."

"You deserve a break," Lexie said. "I know you've been getting out more these days, but still. Taking care of two healthy kids is tough, let alone one with a serious illness. If, God forbid, it was Max, you'd do it for us. Faith wasn't asking for you or anything, just fussing."

"Thanks," Callie said.

"Maybe we should talk to Brady about this?" Arizona said. "Maybe something is wrong. This has been happening more and more. I mean, right now, she's overtired, but earlier?"

"Yeah."

"Brady'll be at work on Monday morning. I'll see what he thinks."

Once again, she was trying not to be, but she was worried.

"Is something with your heart making you crabby?" Lexie asked the little one. "Maybe Mom's right. Maybe one of your medicines isn't doing its job anymore or something."

"Yeah," Faith nodded.

"Is that your professional opinion?" Madre asked, giving her a kiss. "Those medicines!"


	17. Information Overload

They talked to Dr. Brady on Monday and, of course, he took their concerns seriously. It was entirely possible that this was a behavioural phase Faith was going through, but he wasn't about to dismiss the fact that her surgeon parents were concerned. He told Arizona to bring her to the hospital the following day. He would be there for a few other patients, but he could make some time for Faith.

"Can we try this one?" he asked.

He suspected the problem may have been with her blood pressure, but getting a truly accurate reading was difficult. Faith didn't like the feeling of the cuff, so she would get upset, which would throw off the results. However, right now, she was just enjoying some of the toys in the Peds. play area. They were new to her, so she was much more interested in them than she was in her doctor.

She started resisting as he put the cuff around her arm. If this failed, he could use one of the hospital's monitors, but he didn't want to hook the little girl up to a machine without trying this first.

"Faith Evelyn, look at this guy," Callie showed her, picking up a stuffed animal that vaguely resembled their dog.

"A stuffed animal in a hospital playroom?" Arizona asked. "Really? How'd that get here? There's no good way to easily clean that."

"Oh, shh," Callie replied, handing it to Faith.

Yes, there were probably way too many germs on it, but if it could keep Faith happy in order to get a good reading, they'd deal with that later.

"Faith, who is this one like?"

"Wub," she answered.

They were heavily emphasising how important it was to be gentle with the dog. After hearing that she had to "show the puppy love" instead of pulling at her tail, Faith had began calling her new friend "Love," or "Wub" as she said it. They didn't have the heart to break it to her that this wasn't actually her name because it was just too sweet. She'd get it one day, but for now, Hershey had a nickname.

"Like Hershey?" she asked. "Yeah."

"Is Hershey your puppy?" Dr. Brady asked.

"Yes, right?" Arizona asked.

"I'm going to give your arm a hug, okay?" Dr. Brady warned the tiny girl. "Do you give your puppy hugs?"

"Yep," she said, nervously looking at Madre as the cuff got tighter on her little arm.

"It's okay," she promised. "What's Hershey's favourite thing to give you?"

"Sof?"

"Hershey gives you Sofia?" Arizona wondered. "No! Hershey gives lots of kisses!"

The doctor was able to take Faith's blood pressure, but they could tell he wasn't happy with the results. He decided to try it one more time, hoping that this wasn't pushing his luck with the little girl's patience.

"One more hug," he told her. "Tell me about Hershey's kisses? Are they wet and slobbery?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"Kinda like yours, huh?" Callie teased. "But we love 'em."

The second reading was almost the exact same number, so her doctor knew that this was the true reading. Unfortunately, he was none too pleased. He knew she had always had high blood pressure, but this was much, much too high.

"She's been getting all of her meds.?" he asked. "I know you know how to give meds., but sometimes kids spit them out, so…"

"She's been doing decently well with them," Callie said. "Why?"

He explained that it was much higher than he ever liked to see a toddler's blood pressure rise. Clearly there was something going on if her medication didn't even help anymore.

"We'll do some tests," he assured them. "The important thing is that you know your baby well enough that we caught it before something happened."

"We're not going home tonight, are we?" Callie asked.

"Let's just wait and see."

* * *

It turned out that Callie was right. They were not taking Faith home. No, instead she ended up being admitted to the P.I.C.U. after it was discovered that one of the valves in her heart that had always been considered weak was closing up.

"We can fix this," Teddy, who insisted on scrubbing in once again, said.

"What does this mean for the Fontan?" Callie asked. "I know she's not ready for it yet, but…"

Callie was wondering if the third step in the series of surgeries that they had been putting her daughter through would still be able to be successful now. Had they come this far only to be able to put out fires, but not actually come up with decent solutions? She knew that even the Fontan wasn't going to be a cure, but it would do a lot of good.

"We'll probably do it sooner rather than later," Dr. Brady answered. "It depends on the damage we see when we get in there."

"Fantastic," she said, sarcastically.

"Mama!" Faith started crying as she picked up on the tension in the room.

They had been explaining every step to her so far, telling her that Dr. Brady just had to look at her heart. She didn't understand why suddenly Dr. Brady became Dr. Brady, Auntie Teddy, and a bunch of nurses who were in and out of the room.

"Let's talk," she said, lifting her out of the bed.

She realized that it was going to be one of the last times she would hold her for awhile. Tomorrow morning, her little girl would be back in the operating room.

"Yep," she said.

"You agree? We need to talk about this?" she asked, smiling through tears she was trying to hide.

"Yep."

"There's a part of your heart that's not working," she said. "Dr. Brady and Auntie Teddy are going to help it."

"Oh."

"I'm really, really good at fixing little girl hearts," Teddy smiled at her niece. "Will you let me fix yours?"

"No."

"Will you play with me at least?" she asked.

She didn't want her to be scared, so she was hoping that maybe a few simple games would make her much less terrified. For just a few minutes, she would forget where she was. Realistically, it probably did more good for Auntie Teddy, who didn't have to feel like the bad guy, though.

She reached her little arms out.

"Is it okay if we go find Mark while you play?" Arizona wondered. "Clearly he needs to know that Sofia's going to be with him for a little while."

"Go ahead," Teddy nodded.

The moms each gave their girl a kiss. As they left the room, Auntie successfully managed to get her to stop pouting and play pretty happily.

It was then that her moms really lost it. Their toddler was sitting there playing and in less than twelve hours, she'd be having heart surgery number three? How had this all happened today? What started as a check-up and maybe a medication swap turned into another surgery and a hospital stay?

Callie wiped away her wife's tears, even though she had plenty of her own.

"It's going to be okay," she said. "It has to be."

Mark, who was coming to check on a cleft lip patient who he had operated on yesterday, rounded the corner to see his best friends falling apart.

"What happened?" he asked, noticing Faith in the hospital bed.

"Her aortic valve is almost fully closed," Callie said. "Those 'episodes' she's been having were really severe chest pain. Only they freaked her out so badly that she didn't even know how to show us what was going on. I thought she'd at least be touching her chest if…but she just…it was so overwhelming for her."

"You couldn't have known any sooner," Mark told them. "You know that, right?"

"Right."

"When's the surgery?"

"In the morning."

"Should Sofia come tonight?" Arizona asked her wife. "We can't just send her sister into surgery without giving her a chance to see her, can we?"

"She's still happy," she said. "Especially now that she's on pain meds. It might do Sof some good to see that Faith can be happy in the hospital."

"I'll bring her," Mark said. "Do you want to her tell about the surgery then or should Lexie and I break the news before we come?"

"Before," Arizona replied. "We didn't see this coming and it's…"

"Information overload," Callie replied. "And we're surgeons. She's just a kid."

"Yeah."

"Anything I can do for you guys?" Mark asked.

"Just keep Sofia as happy as you can," Callie said. "Faith's old enough to communicate this time. She can _tell _us she's sad. We can't handle hearing that from both of them."

"You're not doing this _to_ her," he reminded them. "It's _for_ her."

"It's feeling like torture," Arizona said, looking back at the giggling girl who seemed to have no idea what was really going on.

* * *

"Faith, Faith, Faith!" Callie was laughing later that night.

In order to have Faith practice taking deep breaths for after she was extubated post-op, they were blowing bubbles with her. It was fun, but it would also come in handy for when they wanted to help her adjust to breathing for herself again. The only problem was that right now, Faith was also chasing the bubbles down the hallway, forgetting about her I.V .pole.

"You gotta wait for your pole, Baby!" Arizona replied. "It's your buddy, 'member."

"No," she said, looking from the pole to her mother.

"I know it's not a very _good_ buddy, but it's a buddy," she said. "You're gonna have it for awhile so you can get medicine."

"Ick," she said, making her now famous "medicine face."

"These one's don't go in your mouth so they don't taste yucky," Callie said.

"Oh."

"Want to blow more bubbles, Big Brave Kid?" Arizona asked.

Faith did the blowing motion, even with nothing in front of her.

"Silly!" Callie smiled. "Wait for the wand!"

Arizona put it in front of Faith's mouth and she stuck her tongue out, only to be very displeased by the soapy taste.

"Don't lick it," Arizona told her. "Blow bubbles! Use those lungs."

This was when Sofia and Mark arrived. The moms could tell just by the look on her face that she was pretty confused. Her dad had just told her that her sister needed surgery, but she was up, running around and blowing bubbles?

"Faith, look who it is!" Callie smiled.

"Mak," she said, not able to say his name properly.

"Mark?" Arizona asked. "And…?"

"Sof," she smiled.

"Why's Faith have to get surgery?" Sofia asked.

"A piece of her heart has to get fixed," Callie said. "We found out it wasn't doing so good today. That's why Faith's been upset a lot."

"Because she's scared?"

"Does she look scared?" Callie asked.

Of course, they knew that she had been and would be again, but they were trying to keep Sofia from worrying.

"No," she said.

"You're not scared, are you?" Mark asked Faith. "You're so brave!"

"Faith's the most brave."

"You think so?" Callie asked. "I think so, too."

"Hershey likes Daddy's house," she reported.

As promised, Mark and Lexie would be taking care of the dog. Hopefully this would lift Sofia's spirits a little.

"Good."

"I'll take care of her," she said.

"Thanks," Arizona replied. "And we'll take care of Faith, okay?"

"Yep."

Faith pulled Mommy's hand, which had the bubble wand in it, back down.

"Oh, Sofia Faith wants to show you how she can blow bubbles," Callie said. "Watch."

"Can I pop 'em?" she asked.

"A few," Mommy decided. "Let her get some, too."

Nobody there wanted this moment to end. If the morning never came, they would be okay with it, as long as they could keep blowing bubbles forever.


	18. Day One

The surgery was taking longer than it should have and Alex hadn't even been out to update them – as per usual – in hours. They sat there, keeping the positive words that were acting as a sort of glue holding them together flowing out of their mouths, but both still thinking the not so positive thoughts.

Then Dr. Brady walked into the waiting area with Teddy behind him. He had look of defeat on his face which sent both of their hearts plummeting into their stomachs instantly.

"Faith's in recovery," he assured them.

There was relief, but the horrible knots in their stomachs didn't come completely undone. Faith had made it through surgery, but there was something else that the doctor had to say. They knew it.

"But?" Callie asked, squeezing her wife's hand as a way of saying that they could get through whatever it was.

They were Callie and Arizona. They were used to fighting for happiness. Their little girl was tough as nails, even though she was only fifteen months old. Whatever Brady was going to tell them was going to be just one more hurdle that they had to jump. She was having trouble believing this herself, but she was trying her hardest.

"She went into cardiac arrest while she was under," he explained. "This caused…the heart was just too damaged."

"So you're saying what?" Callie asked. "She's going to –"

"We fixed the valve," Teddy answered. "But with the damage to her heart, it isn't likely to help long term."

"When the time comes, we'll go back in and replace it with a mechanical valve," Dr. Brady said.

"Right. Then she can still have the Fontan when she's about two, but it won't provide the result we're hoping for. The hope after the Fontan is to have as close to a normal heart as possible. Even if we fix everything structurally, there's damage now."

"What about a transplant?" Callie asked. "She would be a candidate now, right? All you're doing is plugging holes on a sinking ship. She has to be a candidate for a donor heart."

They explained that yes, Faith would be put on the list. Of course, they knew that waiting was the tough part. There was no way to know when a donor heart would come for Faith. In the meantime, all that they could do was wait and perform all of the other procedures in hopes of buying her some time.

"Enough of this," Arizona finally said.

She knew the medicine. Of course, it still had to be talked about, but right now, she just wanted to go see their girl. Talking about the possible outcomes and UNOS protocol was not changing a thing.

"What?" Callie asked.

"We need to see her," she said. "They're telling us that surgery can only _sort of_ do what it's supposed to. That this clock has started and time might run out. Only, we don't know how much time we have until that happens. So, no. I don't want to talk about statistics or anything like that. Not right now. Right now, we need to see her."

"She's not going to die, Arizona," she said.

"I haven't given up," she promised. "But I'm not going to waste a second that I could be with her."

"Me neither."

"Then let's go," she said, getting up.

* * *

An hour later, Faith's Mommy and Madre were both by her side in her room as she opened her eyes. She was still heavily sedated, so she didn't really have any other reaction since she was unaware of everything that was going on.

"Hi," Callie smiled, giving her a kiss. "You woke up, huh? That surgery's all done, Mija. Now you just rest."

Arizona put one of her favourite blankets – the one Sofia had given her after the Glenn – into her little hands so that she could feel its softness. She had heated blankets on her to keep her warm, so she didn't need this one, but she just wanted her to know that she had her comfort item close by.

"We love you so much, Faith," she told her. "Do you know that? Madre and I are both here and we have your special blanket from Sister."

They hadn't expected her to need this surgery. They thought she'd have the Fontan sometime around age two and then – hopefully, if everything continued to go as planned – be finished with the procedures.

Now, suddenly, they felt like they were back at the beginning again. It felt almost as if It was the day that they had received Faith's diagnosis. They knew what was wrong, and what needed to be done to fix it, but they couldn't actually fix it yet. That was out of their hands. They were playing the waiting game once again.

"It's okay, Mommy," Callie said, knowing that Arizona was about to cry.

That was the last thing Faith needed to see right now. She was out of it, but this still had to be very scary for such a little lady.

"It's completely out of our hands," she said.

"I know."

"Why us?" she asked.

"Because Faith's so special," Callie said, smiling at the baby girl. "Right? We got to be your mamas because you're just perfect for our family!"

Callie knew that Arizona had been struggling with what she believed in. Callie was religious and both of the girls were being raised with a knowledge of God, but Arizona wasn't sure. She wanted to believe in some higher power – especially after being given a sick child – but she didn't understand how God could do this.

Callie, on the other hand, didn't question it. God had a plan. She had to believe that. Being given Faith – and her hypoplastic left heart syndrome – was not a mistake or a punishment. They had tried five different rounds of IUI to even conceive her, and they were so blessed to have her. There was some reason that they were her parents, even if they didn't know why they had received this particular little girl. Maybe it was because they were doctors, or maybe because they had gotten through Sofia's N.I.C.U. days previously.

"Madre's right about that," Arizona told Faith. "You're the best Faith Torres I know."

Faith moved her hand, letting go of the blanket. She placed it over by Callie instead.

"Want to hold my hand?" she asked. "Okay, sure. Maybe Mommy can read a story."

They hadn't been home since yesterday, but Mark and Sofia had brought them a few things when they visited last night. Amongst these items were a few books. Mark figured that even if Faith couldn't play, she could always be read books.

"Which one, Faith?" she smiled, picking up her personal favourite. "Love You Forever? Grandma and Grandpa used to read this to Mama and Uncle Tim when we were little. Now your sister knows how to read it, too. One day we'll teach you."

Sure, Sofia couldn't exactly "read" it just yet. However, she had had it read to her so many times that she could recite the entire thing, as if she could read anyway.

"That sounds good," Callie said. "Right?"

There was a knock at the door before Lexie walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said. "I was in the O.R., so I just got Mark's text about what happened now. If there's anything we can do, let us know. Anything at all."

"Thanks," Arizona smiled. "Unfortunately, what we need is a heart."

"It'll come."

Lexie and Mark may not have been Faith's parents, but they were involved in raising her big sister, so they did feel a special connection to Dr. Robbins' mini-me. She meant what she said. They would bend over backwards to help everyone through this.

"Yeah."

"Until then, we have other surgical options," Callie said. "They won't fix it, but they'll prolong the time that she has to wait."

"Yeah."

"If you two need a minute, I can stay with her," Lexie volunteered. "Go get something to eat and a couple cups of coffee. Clear your heads."

"No, she just woke up."

"She knows you're here and nothing's going to change right now," Lexie said. "She's seen you. I'm sure she feels comforted. Right, Faith?"

"I don't know," Callie said.

"I can come back," she told her. "My shift is over and I'm heading home, but just call. I think Mark wants to stay with Sofia today so that she's less scared, but I'll come."

"Thanks."

Arizona sat down in the chair that was probably going to become her bed for awhile. Faith had dozed off again already. So much for the story.

"How do we do this? I know one minute at a time. I know. That's how I survived today. But how do we explain this to Sofia? That surgeries aren't actually fixing Faith anymore. What if we're still waiting by the time Faith's old enough to need answers?"

"Then we're lucky," Callie said.

"It's day one again."

"I know."

"I hate day one."

* * *

**Clearly this is not the best of outcomes. I realize this. Just please know that I adore little miss Faith Evelyn Torres (though I may be biased lol) and I know what I am doing. Trust me, please. ** **Thank you. I'll have more either Sunday or Monday.**


	19. Those First Days

Callie and Arizona sat with Faith for about another two and a half hours before they finally caved and called Lexie. Of course, they first checked to see if any of their other friends who were there were available, but everyone was either in the O.R. or busy with patients that they couldn't really leave right then.

"Thanks for coming," Arizona said when Lexie arrived.

"Of course," she nodded. "How's she been?"

"Nothing's changed," Callie answered. "She's been stable and sleeping this whole time."

"That's what you need right now, right Faith?" Lexie asked, sitting down beside the toddler's bed. "You need to sleep, and relax, and take it easy. It's been a long day. I'll sit with you for a little while so that Mommy and Madre can go get something to eat. Is that okay?"

"We'll be back," Callie promised as she and Arizona both leaned in to kiss their sleeping girl.

"Yep," Mommy nodded.

"How's Sofia?" Callie asked, wiping away a few tears.

"Mark tried to make today extra fun so that she wouldn't have too much time to worry. She's much too young for that. She said she wanted to go to school, so we brought her, but after that Mark said he brought the kids and the dog to the park, out for dinner, and then ice-cream. They were watching a movie when I got home. She seems about as happy as possible given what's going on, but she did ask me to tell you to call when I got here."

"She doesn't know the surgery didn't go well, does she?" Arizona wondered.

"I just told her that it was all done," she answered. "I think, to her, that automatically means it was fine. I thought you might want to explain more when you have a chance to actually see her."

They knew they had to say something since Sofia was bound to hear adult conversation at some point and figure out that something even more scary than usual was happening. Yet, they had to think about how to word it in a way that didn't terrify her in the same way that they were terrified. She was weeks away from her sixth birthday; certainly she was not old enough to take on that burden.

"Yeah."

"Let's go get something to eat and call our big girl, Mommy," Callie said.

"Sounds good," she replied, sneaking in one more kiss for Faith.

* * *

Once again, Callie and Arizona headed to the cafeteria and attempted to come to terms with the fact that they would be eating the vast majority of their meals here while their daughter was still admitted. Living there always took its toll on them over time, but this time, it felt like that had already happened. They were so discouraged by the events of the day that even their first post-surgery cafeteria trip was emotionally exhausting.

Still, hearing Sofia's voice was helping. They could tell that she wasn't quite her happy self, but it was still nice to hear from her. They may have been focused on Faith's needs right now, but they were still always thinking about how this would affect their older girl as well.

"We hear that you three had a fun day," Callie told her.

"Daddy let me have _two _kinds of ice cream!" she proudly declared.

"What kinds?" Arizona asked, loving the excitement in the almost-six-year-old's tone.

"Cotton candy and then there's one with brownies in there," she said.

"Yum."

"How's Faith?"

"Faith's sleeping right now," Callie said.

"Does she want to see me?"

They all wanted to see each other. Callie, Arizona, and even Faith were used to times without Sofia due to their custody arrangements, but times like this were different. When Sofia was at Mark's on a typical day, they weren't being kept from each other. In fact, the entire blended family of seven often spent time together. Now, Sofia couldn't come and she knew it. This forced separation was hard for everyone.

"You can come tomorrow," Arizona decided. "Faith's still got that tube in her throat and all of those machines though."

Arizona found herself getting slightly choked up about this. She had treated many children as sick as Faith, and she truly did care about all of them, but it was much harder to see one of her kids in that bed. Telling her other child about it – again – was tough as well.

"It's okay, Mommy," she said, seeming wise beyond her years because being Faith Evelyn's big sister didn't always give her much choice. "That stuff helps her. It's just a little scary."

"You're right."

"I hope Faith comes home soon."

"It's going to take a little while again," Callie said. "But Daddy and Lexie will bring you for visits."

"Good."

"You have a good sleep, okay?" Arizona asked. "We love you."

"Tell Faith have a good sleep," she said. "It helps."

"It does, huh?"

"Yep."

"We will," Callie agreed.

* * *

By the time her mommies returned to her room, Faith was awake again. She had only opened her eyes a few minutes ago, and she wouldn't keep them open for very long now, but it was still something. For some reason, it was easier for them to see her with her eyes open, even if she had tears in them. They at least knew that she was with them and hanging in there.

"Well, hi Beautiful!" Arizona smiled. "You woke up? Madre and I were just eating. We called Sofia and she told us to tell you to have a good sleep, but you're awake. Silly Sister."

Lexie was putting two little pink and red clips into Faith's hair to keep it out of her eyes.

"Is Lexie making you look nice?" Callie asked, giving her girl a kiss.

"Sometimes it's nice to look pretty, even when we feel yucky, huh?" Arizona asked.

"She's been the same since you left," Lexie reported. "Brady stopped by and increased the pain meds., but other than that, there's been no change."

At this point, that was good. They knew the routine by now. Faith would have an extremely rough first few days and then, slowly, over a few weeks, she would improve. They just didn't know how long that improvement would last this time which was the scary part. They used to be able to plan her hospitalizations, but now that wasn't possible all the time.

"Thanks, Lexie," Callie replied. "We know you'd rather be at home, but…"

"It's not a problem," she assured her. "Stop thanking me. I'll see you in the morning. "

* * *

Their friends – which were really nothing short of family now – helped them through the next days much the same way that Lexie had that night. They offered to sit with Faith, they brought them coffee, and every once and awhile someone would even arrive with a home-cooked meal for the moms.

Unfortunately, things weren't going quite as well for Faith. She developed an infection by the morning after the surgery, and spent the next week trying to fight it off. This meant that they had to retract their promise to Big Sister, since she couldn't come visit yet after all.

Finally, on day eight, Emily arrived with the very excited little girl.

"Look who it is!" Arizona asked Faith, who was still intubated and heavily sedated. "Sofia and Emily came!"

"Hershey's not allowed," Sofia explained.

"Nope," Callie said, picking her up and giving her a kiss. "But we're so happy to see you."

They may have been in a hospital room, but for the first time in eight days, they were all together again. They weren't looking for perfection. They had definitely learned to take what they could get.

"You said I could come a long time ago," she told her.

"I know," she replied. "I shouldn't have promised. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said.

Arizona found herself just staring at her oldest daughter. She had missed the familiarity of that smile and the wonder within of both of her babies as they set eyes on each other. She loved the joy that the sisters brought one another.

"Is it good to see Faith?" she asked Sofia.

"Yep," she nodded. "I want her to come home soon, though."

"She'll do her best."

"I hope she doesn't miss my birthday party," she said.

This thought hadn't been far from Callie and Arizona's minds either. Sofia's birthday was a few weeks away and they were hoping – maybe illogically at this point – that the whole family could attend. If not, they would make sure that at least they did while somebody else stayed with Faith, but that wasn't something they wanted to have to do. Sofia's whole family needed to celebrate with her.

"I hope so, too," Callie replied. "But if she does, we'll have to celebrate it with her a different day."

"Yep," she said. "It's gonna be a princess party. Lexie and me picked."

While they were extremely grateful that Sofia had Lexie in her life, especially for times like this when they couldn't always be there, this was hard to hear. Typically, Sofia's party's had always been planned as a group – much like many of the things concerning their girl – and this year they hadn't even had time to give input, let alone be involved. Sofia didn't really realize this and she was thrilled with everything that her party was going to include, so that was enough. However, it was still hard for her moms to hear about party plans instead of make them.

"Fun," Arizona said.

"And everybody gets a princess crown," she said. "Even Faith. We got a tiny one. Me and Lexie."

"You're such a thoughtful sister," Arizona smiled.

"Emily's gonna be at my party," she added. "Right, Emily?"

"Right," she nodded.

Faith moved her little hand in Sofia's direction.

"I think she wants to hold hands, Big Sister," Arizona told Sofia.

"Because that's what buddies do," Sofia agreed.

"Is Faith your best friend ever?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," she answered as she went to the side of the bed, gave Faith a kiss, and held her hand. "And Max and Mommy, Madre, Daddy, Lexie, Hershey…."

"Lots of people, huh?" Callie smiled.

"Yep."

"Even a puppy," Mommy laughed.

Sofia was looking around the room and studying all of the equipment that her baby sister was hooked up to. It must have been overwhelming, but they didn't say anything unless she asked a question. They didn't want to bombard her with too many explanations.

"Is Faith's heart all better yet?"

She had been told in the past that Faith would always have her condition, even after all of her surgeries, but this was a hard concept for a young child to fully understand. She often asked if Faith was all better.

"Nope," Arizona said. "Actually, Dr. Brady just put Faith on a list to get a special new heart. But it could take a long time. Faith could be a big girl by then. We don't know."

"A new heart?"

"It's called a transplant," she said. "They take her not healthy heart and give her one that works better instead."

"Cool."

Luckily, Sofia didn't even think to ask where this special new heart was going to come from. They were sure that she would one day – she had always been too smart for her own good – but they weren't going to offer that information unless she asked for it.

"You think so?"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't like this heart 'cause it makes her get surgery too much."

"It does," Arizona nodded. "I agree. "


	20. Happy Girls

**Two chapters in one day! Why? Well, I've gotten so many _awesome_ reviews that I just had to keep writing today. Thanks so much!**

* * *

Once again, Callie and Arizona found a way to make this hospitalization the best that they could for everyone. Sofia had been coming every day, which was great for the whole family, and Hershey had even snuck in a time or two with a little help from Alex.

Faith had begun to do much better in the weeks since her latest surgery. She was no longer intubated and her pain was usually under control. She had some of her energy back as well. Dr. Brady wasn't exactly _pleased_ with her latest echocardiogram, but he wasn't too discouraged either. He even had hope that Faith would get to be at her sister's party in a few days. Of course, they hadn't told Sofia this just in case that changed, but they were all still hoping that he would discharge her as planned on Friday.

The toddler pulled at the bubble wand in Madre's hand as she stood up off the floor where her puppy was laying. Blowing bubbles had worked to help Faith learn how to take deep breaths following her extubation. Now, with that hurdle out of the way, it had just become a favourite game of the tiniest Torres.

"More bubbles?" Callie asked. "I thought you were just giving Hershey pets?"

"No," she said.

"Okay."

She picked the little girl up and let her blow some bubbles. Of course, they were all directed at Hershey, who didn't quite love them.

"Shhh…!" Callie replied as the pup began to bark. "Hersh, we're supposed to be hiding you!"

Hershey quieted down before anyone came in, but Faith found her reaction hilarious. She immediately wanted to blow more and more bubbles to keep the puppy on her toes.

"Faith Evelyn, let's keep Hershey quiet," she said. "Blow one more time and then we're all done. One more."

The smile and giggle that came from her daughter as Hershey protested this bubble attack warmed Callie's heart. Finally, the happy girl she knew was back again. It was about time.

"You have your mama's super magic smile, you know," she said, giving her a kiss as she put the bubbles away.

"Yeah?"

"Yep!" Callie nodded.

Another giggle.

"Faith Evelyn, you kill me," she told her. "All this happiness today. You must feel good, huh?"

She touched her chest. She was now learning how exactly to tell them when she was in pain. They were hoping that this would help them in the future.

"Does that still hurt a little bit?"

"Ow."

"Does it hurt lots, though?"

She shook her head.

"Good. The rest of the hurt will go away the more you heal. It takes time, Baby."

"Yeah?"

"Yep," she said.

"Mama?" she asked, looking around the room.

Arizona and Sofia were back at the house making frozen treats. In an effort to get much needed time away from the hospital – and quality time with Sofia – both moms had been taking turns doing this. Popsicles had helped when Faith's throat was sore after she was extubated, but they had to find a healthy alternative, since their little one was on a strict diet these days. The treats that Arizona and Sofia were making today consisted of not much other than frozen juice that they had squeezed from actual fruits. The girls loved them and, most importantly, Sofia loved making them for her sister.

"She's making you Popsicles, 'member? They'll be here soon. They're just putting new ones in the freezer, but bringing the already frozen ones from the other day."

"Soon?" she asked.

"Soon."

Just then, Dr. Brady came into the room and was greeted quite happily by Hershey. The chocolate lab covered his face in puppy kisses and everything.

"Faith, did you sneak somebody in to play?" he smiled.

"Say 'busted!'" Callie replied.

"Auntie Teddy told me she checked on you this morning and she was happy. I want to listen to your heart, but if what I hear is still okay, we'll get you out of here."

"What?" Callie asked. "Today? Right now? What happened to Friday?"

"She's been playing with her dog all morning, correct?"

"Yeah."

"If she's okay to do that, she's okay to go today," he smiled. "You and Arizona will need to be available for a transplant call at any time, but –"

"We have many friends who have agreed to bring her in if we're operating when we get the call or something," Callie said. "And we're surgeons with busy jobs, but Chief Hunt knows that she comes first. If you have a heart, we'll be here for it. Trust me."

"Good."

"And Arizona's off for the next month or so because we're not quite ready to leave her with the nanny yet, so if we get a call then…"

"Frankly, that would be a miracle."

UNOS probably wasn't going to give a heart to a kid who still had surgical options left over one that didn't. She was on the list, but they had to expect to wait until they had no other choices.

"I know," she said. "Just… "

"She's your baby. I know."

After listening to Faith's heart, he agreed that she could officially be sent home as soon as the discharge papers were done. Sofia and Arizona walked in on the tail end of this conversation.

"What's going on?" she asked, handing Faith a peach Popsicle.

"She's going home," Callie smiled.

"Today?!"

"Today," Dr. Brady nodded.

"Yay!" Sofia, who had her own Popsicle in her mouth, cheered. The Popsicle fell to the floor and Hershey helped herself.

"Hershey, that's mine!"

"Pick a new one," Arizona said, opening up the little cooler she had with her.

"Faith really could go home?"

"She really can," Callie nodded.

* * *

They tried to get Faith to take it easy when she came home, but the toddler had other ideas. She did have a pretty low energy-level in general due to the hypoplastic left heart syndrome, but she didn't like to let that stop her.

Three days later, she ran through Mark and Lexie's door to her friend Maxwell. The little boy was trying to reach the party favours that were laid out in the middle of one of the tables specifically so that his little fingers couldn't get to them. Of course, Faith was eager to help, even if she was shorter than he was.

"Happy birthday," Mark told Sofia. "How's it feel to be six?"

"I like it," she told him.

"Do you feel older?" Lexie teased.

"No!" she said. "I just feel same as everyday old."

They watched as Maxwell got the idea to – not so gracefully – push over a chair to stand on, Lexie was tempted to step closer, just so that he would be safe if he fell, and let him do what he was trying to. He was learning how to problem-solve and she didn't necessarily want to discourage that. Yet, he had also been told to leave that table be.

"Maxwell Mark," she simply said. "Are you supposed to do that?"

When her friend was forced to give up, Faith decided to give it a try. She wasn't as old as Maxwell, so she wasn't even coordinated enough to get up onto the chair, but she was pretty determined.

"Faith, you just got out of the hospital three days ago," Arizona said, going over to get her. "Take it easy, Crazy Girl!"

Mark laughed. "She seems to be back to her old self."

"A little too much," Callie agreed. "Brady wants us restricting her diet and limiting her activity and she keeps sneaking bites of junk from Sofia and pulling stunts like that. She's been keeping us on our toes."

"She'll run low on energy soon," Arizona assured.

The little girl may have felt better, but she was still only getting her energy in spurts. It wouldn't be too long before a rest was in order.

"I know."

"Yep," Faith said.

"Yep?" Arizona asked. "You're gonna get sleepy soon? That's okay."

"She'll miss my party," Sofia said.

"Nobody else is even here yet," Callie told her. "It's okay. She'll wake up at some point."

* * *

Faith did doze off and miss the majority of the party, but that was fine. She simply missed a bunch of five and six year olds, plus Max, pretending to be princes and princesses for an afternoon.

She was awake when the time came to eat the cake, but cake wasn't on the menu for her. Once again, she was having one of her special Popsicles. She protested at first, but she eventually did settle for her own treat. In fact, she bit off a chunk and then spit it out in Abuelo's hand because it was too cold for her liking.

"Thanks," he replied. "Just what Abuelo needed."

"Faith, you're going to choke one day, Baby," Arizona warned. "No biting those, remember? You just like to make us worry, don't you?"

She giggled.

"She'll be fine," Grandpa Robbins said. "You and your brother used to eat all kinds of things whole at her age."

"And scare me half to death," his wife added.

"We just don't _try _to tempt fate," Arizona explained. "We've had enough issues with our kids to last a lifetime."

"Faith should try princess cake," Sofia said. "It's yummy."

"Sofia, we have to make sure she eats _very_ healthy so that her heart stays working until she gets a new one, remember?" Callie asked.

"But it's yummy."

"I know, but she's happy with her own treat."

Arizona's phone began to ring. She wasn't working right now and all of their friends and family were at the party, so who was calling. Her number was the one they had given the hospital to contact them if they had a heart for Faith, so she instantly answered.

"No?" Callie asked when she hung up just seconds later.

"Wrong number."

"Oh."

"How long will she be waiting?" Callie's dad wondered.

"Could be days, could be years," she replied. "But in Faith's case, probably more like years. Other people who need hearts can't leave the hospital and have no other surgical options left. She does. So we wait."

"You can't pull any strings?" he asked. "You're surgeons."

"We'd be risking our careers," Arizona replied. "Plus, as tempting as that is, that means that somebody else's Faith wouldn't…"

"Yeah."

"So they're saying that she needs the new heart, but she's still not really sick enough?" Arizona's dad asked.

"It's frustrating," Callie said. "But that's not exactly what they're saying. Just that the heart has to go to the most critical patient it can be matched with. If that happens to be Faith, then it's Faith. If not, we wait."

"I don't know how you do it," Bailey said.

"This gorgeous girl helps," Callie smiled, giving Faith a kiss as she took her from her abuelo. "She's worth it."

"Yep," Faith said.

"You agree? You may not be healthy, but at least you're a happy girl again, right?"

"It's amazing how resilient kids can be," Emily commented.

She had heard about it in her classes, but seeing Faith recover was the first time she had witnessed it herself. Even though Arizona was home with the little girl, Emily still worked for a few hours a day in order to give Arizona a break. The girls loved her, so it worked out well.

"Thank God," Callie said. "Literally."

"And I'm a happy girl, too," Sofia said. "'Cause I like bein' six."

"Good," Arizona smiled.


	21. The Trouble With Waiting

"_No!"_ Faith whined as soon as they walked into Dr. Brady's office one morning in early August.

The little girl – who had just turned twenty months old a few days ago – certainly did not want to be there. She didn't enjoy her "heart checks"- as Sofia had started calling them - on any day, but she was especially grumpy today. It wasn't quite seven o'clock and Faith was not a morning person. That was clear to everyone in the office now.

Callie picked her up. She did feel bad that her daughter had to go to so many appointments, especially the early morning ones, but there wasn't much way around that. They were extremely lucky that Dr. Brady even saw patients this early, so that they could then make it to work on time afterwards.

"I know," she said, giving her a kiss. "It's a rough day, huh?"

"Sebastian felt the same way when he woke up, Faith," they heard someone in the corner of the room remark.

Faith's resistance had caused Arizona not to notice that Wren and Sebastian were there as well. She was no longer on the little boy's case – since she had been replaced by Dr. Karev when Faith was hospitalized last – but she still asked Alex how he was all the time now that she was back at work.

"He's so big now," Arizona smiled.

"Almost eight months," she nodded. "We're hoping to set a date for the Glenn today. Dr. Brady and Dr. Karev wanted to delay it as much as possible, since he's been doing so good. The first eight weeks were tough, but after that, he's actually done well."

"Good."

"But I heard things weren't so great for Faith."

"Not quite," she said. "She's on a transplant list."

"It's crazy how fast things change, huh?"

"Yep."

"Do I get an introduction?" Callie asked.

She kind of assumed that the little boy was a patient who Arizona knew through the hospital, but she still felt a little awkward just standing there – holding her upset child – while Arizona chatted away.

"Oh, sorry," Arizona replied. "Calliope, this is Wren and Sebastian. Sebastian has H.L.H.S. "

"I remember now," she smiled. "He was the one you wanted to stay late for the night that we realized that Faith –"

"Yeah," she said. "This is Calliope," she told Wren. "My wife. And of course, this would be Faith."

"Hi," she smiled. "I've heard a lot about both of you."

Faith wanted down, so Callie got her to play with a stack of blocks instead of just throwing the tantrum that they all suspected was about to happen.

"Those are fun, huh?" Wren asked, trying to convince her that she could enjoy herself.

Finally, a smile emerged and spread across the little lady's face.

"Baby!" she said, going over to Sebastian, a red block still in her hand.

"He's Baby Sebastian," Arizona said. "He has a special heart like yours, Faith."

She gasped.

"Sebastian knows what it's like to come to see Dr. Brady," Wren said. "He's a brave boy. I bet you're brave, too."

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Good."

The nurse came to tell Wren that she could bring Sebastian back to wait for the doctor now and Faith wasn't too impressed. She didn't want to be there, yet she wanted it to be her turn.

"Well, what's wrong?" Dr. Brady asked, coming out of his office as he headed to go see Sebastian. "You don't want to be here today, do you?"

"That would be a no," Arizona said.

"We'll get you out of here soon," he promised the little one. "I'll go see Sebastian and then it'll be your turn. Then you'll be all done. Okay?"

"Say 'yep'," Callie replied.

"Yeah," she nodded.

* * *

"Stop me from begging for organs," Arizona said as she came out of the room of a six-year-old patient whose parents had just made the impossible decision to take him off life support.

Faith's appointment had gone well – she wasn't getting any worse yet – but cases like this were still hard for her as the mother of someone who was awaiting a transplant. She knew that she couldn't force the parents to donate their child's organs, but it was hard to resist.

"Don't beg for organs," Mark, who had just finished a consult on another one of her patients, said. "You can't. If you're involved, UNOS might not –"

"It's not even about Faith," she said. "Faith's got time. But somebody else's Faith might not and it's so hard not to think of –"

"That's somebody else's Faith in there, too," he said. "He's what? Five?"

"Six."

"Sofia's age," he said. "Robbins, give them time."

"I hate my job sometimes. One of my first cases here was a little boy who needed transplanted organs and when Karev and I were on the plane, he thought I was heartless because I was talking to him after we'd just taken a kid's organs. He didn't understand how I could just carry on like that. But I had to. And I told him that, yes, I do think about the tiny coffins. But now…Calliope and I are basically wishing for…"

"A hero," Callie said as she walked up. "We're wishing for Faith's hero. Yes, that means a family has to lose their child and if there was a way around that, believe me, we'd go for it. But we're not just wishing for a kid to die. We're hoping for a hero. We may not know the child that Faith's new heart comes from, but we'll be forever grateful. They'd be a little hero."

"What are you -?"

"Shepherd told me what's going on with this case," she said. "I thought it might be tough for you."

"He mentioned organ donation, but they're not sure."

"You can't let this one be about Faith."

"I know."

"But it's impossible."

"Exactly. We're waiting and another family is waiting too. A family who this child's organs could save. Many families, actually. Only, those other moms probably don't find themselves in situations where they're asking the potential donor's family for organs. I do. It makes the waiting…and the hoping so much harder when you see the other side."

Callie wrapped her wife into a hug, giving her permission to let out the tears that she was obviously holding in.

"This is my job," Arizona said. "I can do it."

"You can," she assured her. "All you can do is ask. You can't feel bad if they say no. You tried to make a match for someone else's Faith and it didn't work out."

"Sometimes I wonder how either of you function," Mark said. "Doing the work you do when you're going through it yourselves."

"We have to," Arizona said.

* * *

Callie and Arizona tried not to, but they couldn't help but think of the families that Arizona's case today had, in some way, impacted. The family of a beautiful six-year-old was grieving the loss of their son, brother, nephew, and grandson. Their hearts broke for them of course. No family should ever have had to experience what they were. Still, they couldn't 't help but think of the other children. The children whose lives could have been changed if that boy's family had chosen donation. Faith probably wouldn't have been one of them, but still. There were children who still had to wait for their chance. This, while different, was also heartbreaking. Maybe they were biased, but it seemed so terrible all the way around.

"Okay, girls," Callie eventually said as the kids played together in Sofia's bedroom. "Sofia, you still need a bath. And Faith, it's time for you to brush those teeth and go to bed."

"No," she said.

"Yes, please," she said. "You don't want yucky teeth all night."

"Come on, Faith," Sofia replied, taking her sister by the hand.

Sofia had always been a great big sister to both Maxwell and Faith, but lately she was taking the lead a lot more. She was noticing that her brother and sister thought she was cool, so she was helping them with a lot more things now. She liked knowing that somebody looked up to her, so this worked for everyone involved.

When they got into the bathroom, Sofia handed Faith her own little toothbrush. Of course, Madre or Mommy had to help her to actually brush them, but the toddler loved to give it a go with a paste-less brush first.

"Thank you, Sofia," Arizona said. "Get in the tub now, please."

"Can I have bubbles today?"

"Yep," Callie said.

"Bubble!" Faith exclaimed, dropping her brush so that she could take off her own clothes, just like Sister was doing.

"You already had your bath, Baby," Arizona laughed.

Faith continued until she was just down to her diaper. Ironically, she never seemed able to undress when she was asked to, but when she wanted to be just like Sofia, she had no problem doing so.

"Did you hear Mama?" Callie asked. "Faith, it's not your bathtime."

"Ooo…" she said, seeing herself in the full-length mirror. "Pity!"

"You are pretty!" Arizona said, quickly realizing that Faith's bedtime was going to be pushed back a few minutes tonight. "Faith, where are your eyes? Can you point on the mirror?"

"Nye," she said, pointing.

"Eyes," Callie corrected. "But yep!"

"Do you know what colour your pretty eyes are?" Callie wondered. "Are they brown?"

"Yep."

"No!" she told her. "Sofia and Madre have brown ones. You and Mommy have _blue_ ones. Look. Faith Evelyn's eyes are the colour blue."

"Ohh…!"

"Are you learning lots?" Arizona asked. "Smart girl."

Faith pointed to the scar on her chest in the mirror. She had noticed this before, but she had never seemed quite so intrigued.

"That's 'cause you got surgery," Sofia explained from the tub. "I got one, too. See?" she smiled.

"So do I," Madre told her. "All three of us."

"Mama?" Faith asked.

"Not me," she said. "Faith, most people don't get open heart surgery. Only the most special ones," she smiled.

"Yeah."

"Faith, you're gonna get a new heart in there one day," she said. "When you're big. Like as big as me, I think."

"Yeah?"

"You are!" Callie nodded.

Faith clapped for herself before kissing her reflection in the mirror.

"Silly!" Arizona replied, picking her up and tickling her. "What are you doin' kissing you in that mirror?"

They heard Arizona's cell phone ringing. It still made them leap into action every time, thinking of the possibility that UNOS had a heart for their little lady. Arizona went to check right away, but came back without the phone in her hand.

"It was my mom. We really need to start telling people to call us on your phone. Every time mine goes off, we freak out."

Callie laughed. "Yeah."


	22. Being Thankful

**I'm so sorry that this chapter took me so long to get up. I completely intended to have it up a few days ago, but then life made that impossible. I haven't even had the chance to send out the messages I wanted to thanking you all for the wonderfully kind reviews. So, thank you for those. Keep them coming! I should be able to have a new chapter up much sooner this time, as long as life doesn't slap me in the face again. Look forward to more. :)**

* * *

"What are you thankful for?" Arizona asked Sofia on Thanksgiving as the whole family – parents, kids, and grandparents – was gathered at their house for the day.

Sofia was starting to understand the concept of being thankful quite well. They had been talking about what it meant at school and the lesson had been continued at home. They wanted their kids to understand that they were lucky to have the lives that they did. Sure, sometimes Sofia would say she was thankful for silly things, but most of the time she had good answers.

"I'm thankful 'cause Faith feels better today," she decided after some thought.

Faith had been fighting off a cold for the last week now and it didn't really help the rest of her health problems. Given her illness, even the simplest of colds seemed to wear her out so much more. Luckily, she was mostly back to her old self now.

"Me too," Callie agreed as she watched the six-year-old attempt to mash the potatoes.

"Your turn," Sofia said.

They had been doing this daily for a few weeks now, so they had a routine of sorts to follow. Everyone got a turn. Some days, when they were feeling particularly down about Faith's condition, they found that this actually helped greatly. It served as a reminder that Faith may not have been healthy, but at least they still had her. That wasn't something that all parents of sick children could say.

"Well, I'm thankful that we're all together and happy today," she smiled.

Sofia didn't know this yet, but Callie thought back to how much Arizona had struggled with Mark's involvement during her pregnancy. Now those feelings seemed so far behind them. They really were all friends now which was great for their girl. The only person missing from this get-together was Callie's mom, but she had even come to terms with that on some level. It was better to be happy than to have her around and have things be awkward and difficult.

"Yeah," Faith nodded.

"You agree?" she asked. "What are you thankful for? What makes Faith super happy?"

Clearly, Faith didn't understand the idea of being thankful just yet. However, she would always get a chance to answer, too.

"Does Abuelo make you happy?" Mommy helped out.

Both girls had always loved visits from all of their grandparents, but this time Faith seemed especially attached to Callie's dad. Everything was about her "Lolo" as she called him.

"Yep," she nodded. "Lolo."

He kissed her. "You know what I'm thankful for?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I'm thankful that I get to see you and Sofia," he told her. "You grow up too fast! You're almost two!"

"Free?" she asked.

"Not three!" Sofia replied. "You're going to be _two,_ Faith. _Two."_

"She knows," Arizona laughed. "She's just counting."

"She can't really count very good," Sofia said. "Max can count lots more numbers."

"Max is older," Mark laughed. "Faith will learn."

"I try to teach her, but sometimes she says no."

"Sometimes you tell us no when you don't want to do something, too," Lexie pointed out. "Maybe she doesn't feel like counting all the time."

"Sometimes I try to tell her colours and shapes, too."

"You're such a good sister," Grandpa told her.

"Yeah," Maxwell agreed.

"She's a good sister?" Lexie asked. "Are you a good brother?"

"Sometimes he bugs me," Sofia said. "Remember yesterday he stole my princess shoes?"

Her little brother giggled.

"That was mean," she said sternly, shooting him the nastiest look that a six-year-old was capable of.

"And the thankfulness is over," Mark commented.

"He didn't even say sorry like he means it," she said. "Just 'cause he had to."

"Did you get your shoes back?"

"Yeah."

"Then don't worry about it."

"Now I'm keeping them here," she decided. "Faith won't steal them."

"I wouldn't count on that," Arizona said.

* * *

Aside from that not so loving moment that Sofia had with her brother, and one that happened after dinner with her sister, the rest of the day was great.

"She's out," Arizona laughed as she watched Faith sleep in her father-in-law's arms.

"I thought you said she hasn't been sleeping soundly," Arizona's mom said.

"She hasn't been," Callie said. "But her sister and Max wore her out just enough today. Plus, she's feeling better, so that helps."

"Any word on a heart?" Carlos asked.

"Daddy, they don't tell you that you have to wait x amount of months," Callie explained. "They don't know that. They just call as soon as a heart is available."

"And you're sure that you working at the hospital can't help at all?"

"No," Arizona said.

"What if I make a generous donation to wherever I need to?" he wondered.

"UNOS doesn't accept bribes," Callie said. "And she's still got two procedures ahead of her that can prolong things. She's okay."

"She's on a transplant list," Arizona's dad replied. "How is that okay?"

"When you have a sick kid, you redefine 'okay,'" Arizona said. "In this case, 'okay' means that she's not dying in the near future."

It was still bizarre to use those words in a sentence together. In their minds, Faith just wasn't going to die. Ever. It just wasn't going to happen. However, they still had to look at the situation logically. It was possible that she might not make it.

"So you just have to wait until she is, basically?" her mom wondered.

"Maybe not," Callie said. "We could get a call sooner. We just don't know."

They knew that they were only asking because they cared. They wanted the best for Faith. They were scared of a bad outcome. Still, answering these questions was tough. They were constantly obsessing over when Faith's new heart would come. They didn't really need reminders of just how long it could actually be.

"Hopefully you do," she said.

"Yeah," Arizona agreed.

* * *

Even though they had company visiting, work couldn't be put on hold. Callie and Arizona left the girls with their parents the next day while they went to work. Of course, neither of their kids seemed to mind at all because Grandma, Grandpa, and Abuelo were so much fun. After a quick lesson about Faith's medications, they left to spend the day taking care of other people's family members instead.

They came home expecting to be greeted by two riled up children, but Hershey was the only one to meet them at the door.

"Where's everybody else, Hersh?" Arizona asked her.

They found a note from Arizona's mom – and Sofia who must have insisted that she write her name - on the kitchen table. It explained that, after last night's talk, the grandparents had all realized exactly how stressed and worn out Callie and Arizona really were. Therefore, they were taking the kids out for dinner and some fun so that the moms could have some alone time to relax.

In the past, this would have been perfect. They probably would have had each other's clothes off in no time, not wanting to waste a single precious second while the house was empty. However, today, their minds went into overdrive. Had their parents remembered to bring along the correct medications for Faith? What would they be eating? Was it on track with Faith's new diet? Did their parents really know the signs to look for if Faith wasn't feeling well?

Arizona called her mom.

"Hello?" Sofia answered. "Mommy? We're makin' snow angels!" she giggled.

"Fun," she replied. "Sof, can you give Grandma her phone back, please?"

"I wanted to tell you that," she said. "But okay."

Barbara took the phone. She knew exactly what her daughter and daughter-in-law wanted to know, so she was well-prepared with answers.

"They're fine. We're at the park playing in the snow. We have all of Faith's meds. and one not-so-healthy dinner really won't make a huge difference, will it? We're the grandparents. We _have _to spoil them."

"No," she agreed. "One won't. But we let her eat whatever she wanted at dinner last night. And her birthday party's in a few days. We didn't let her have cake at Sofia's party, but she's getting some at her own. And that's not including her actual birthday. I doubt we won't let her have some kind of special treat that day. So we really can't make a habit of this."

"Oh," she replied, seeing that her daughter had a good point. "Still. We'll order her something that's not too bad for her. Promise. You two just enjoy some time to yourselves. You need it."

"We do," she smiled. "But are you sure you've got everything under control?"

"Yes, Arizona," she promised. "I'm Grandma. I can do this."

"I know you can, but –"

"Faith'll be fine."

"I know."

"Then stop arguing with me."

"Fine. Thanks, Mom. Bye."

* * *

The two ladies spent the next three hours alone together. An hour of it was spent discussing what they planned to ask Dr. Brady at Faith's next appointment. Now that Sofia was getting older and older, they didn't like to talk about all things hypoplastic left heart syndrome in front of her too much. She worried and her worry worried them in return. Therefore, they had to find time somewhere else to talk about their concerns. Most of the time they could do this at work, but they hadn't had the opportunity yet.

Eventually, however, they set aside all talk of surgeries, medications, and children in general.

"I love you," Arizona told her wife as she gave her a kiss.

Now they lay wrapped up in each other's arms, skin on skin. Neither one of them really even wanted to say much. No. They just wanted to be in the moment. This was something that theyhad become good at, but for all the wrong reasons. They had been forced to live in the moment and get through each moment with Faith. They had been forced to truly appreciate each good moment with her, because there was a limit to them and they had no idea if and when that limit would be up. Yet, all of those moments had put moments like this one on hold. They struggled to make time for each other. Sure, they had time for a quickie in an on-call room, but they never seemed to have time for this anymore. The laying there, taking each other in. They missed this.

"We need to do this more often."

They had people offering to babysit, but ever since that rough night Faith had had at Mark and Lexie's, it was hard for the moms to let anyone else take her. They didn't want to put their friends – or Faith – through that possibility again. They did it sometimes, but not as much these days.

"We need two healthy kids and more hours in the day," she replied.

"No, we need more of this," Callie insisted.

Arizona kissed her again, letting these kisses trail down her body now.

"It's so hard to say no to that."

"Then don't," she said.

"Deal."

Arizona's phone rang and she reached for it.

"But –" Callie started to say.

"UNOS," Arizona mumbled, still reaching for the phone.

"True," Callie replied.

"It's the hospital," Arizona said.

They found themselves holding their breaths like kids on Christmas morning right before they got to open the gift they'd been wishing for all year. Maybe it really _was_ the call.

"Hello?"

"The kid in 4503, Elijah Greene…he's puking blood."

"Karev?" Arizona asked, feeling completely let down even though she probably had no business getting her hopes up at this point anyway.

"Yeah. He used to be your patient before Faith got –"

"And now he's yours," she replied. "Alex, you're a good doctor. Why are you calling me because -?"

"I thought you'd want to know," he said. "This isn't good and I know he's my patient now, but you ask me about all of them all the time."

"Run some tests and call me if you need me," she said.

Alex did have a point. She may not have been Elijah's doctor anymore, but she and Karev were always discussing the cases that she had had to pass on to him the last time Faith was hospitalized. Really, she did want to know. This was just bad timing.

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

"Do you have to go?" Callie wondered as her wife hung up.

"No, not right now anyway," she said. "And as much as I may suck for this, I'm going to try not to think about the kid who's vomiting blood and stay here with my stunning wife."

"Stunning, huh?"

"Unbelievably stunning," she nodded. "Karev's got everything under control."

"Shh…" Callie replied. "Only talk about how stunning I am. Or how you're a thousand times more stunning."

"Not true."

"We're equally stunning."

"We are."


	23. A Very Special Faith Kind Of Day

**Once again, thank you for the reviews. I love them so much!**

* * *

Arizona tiptoed as quietly as she could into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her wife. They had learned to steal moments like this – even if a quick kiss was all that happened – for each other. This morning, Callie was preparing to make a very special birthday breakfast for a certain now two-year-old.

"They're both still sleeping!" Arizona said, in a hushed, yet excited tone. "It's seven a.m. and both of them are in bed. Sure, Faith likes her sleep, but Sofia _never_ sleeps this late!"

"Sofia's not sleeping," Callie replied. "I peaked in when I went by her room and she's totally still asleep. She just wants Faith to come running into her room, jump on her bed and yell 'happy birthday to me!' like she always does."

Arizona laughed. Sofia had been trying so hard to get Faith excited for her birthday. However, since Faith couldn't remember turning one, she didn't really understand what her birthday really meant. She had enjoyed her party – which had taken place after Thanksgiving so that her grandparents could be here – but she didn't seem to get the concept of being the birthday girl quite as much as her big sister wanted her to.

"Our baby's two!" Arizona replied. "Two, Calliope."

"I know," Callie smiled. "I can decide whether it's a great thing or a sad thing."

"Great," Arizona decided for her. "We've had two years with her. Some parents –"

"Don't finish that sentence," Callie said, turning to kiss her lips so that the rest of the words simply could not come out. "We've had two years and we're lucky as hell for that, but we keep saying that like two years is so perfect and just right. We want a billion years with her. Two isn't enough. She's going to get a donor heart this year and before we know it we'll be at her med. school graduation."

"Med. school, huh?"

"Obviously," she nodded. "Both of them. Sofia learned how to tie her shoes in about two seconds. The surgical dexterity she has…"

Arizona smiled. "True."

"And Faith, well she's going to become the next Cardio God. Just don't tell Teddy and Cristina."

"How about we just go get our girls out of bed and let them dig into those waffles you're about to make?" she asked. "That may be a better plan for right now. We'll start working on having Faith find better treatments for hypoplastic left heart syndrome when she's out of diapers, how's that?"

"Sure."

"Today's going to be exhausting, isn't it?" Arizona thought aloud as they walked up the stairs together.

They had taken the day off work – much to Dr. Hunt's dismay – because they felt like they needed a family day, just the four of them. Faith may have already had her party, but today was going to be about spending time together, going with the flow, and letting Faith decide what fun situations they would find themselves in.

"In the best of ways," Callie agreed.

Sofia came out of her bedroom, clearly not too impressed.

"Is Faith ever going to get up?"

"We'll go wake her up," Callie nodded, giving her a kiss. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she said, before darting into her sister's bedroom.

"Sof, Sof, Sof…" Arizona replied, stopping her before she shouted something out. "Faith's not a fan of mornings. Let's wake her up gently, please."

Sofia crawled into her little sister's bed and began rubbing her back ever so softly. Faith was definitely fond of cuddles, so maybe this would work. She had seen her moms try it many times.

"Faith, wake up," she said. "It's your birthday."

Those oh-so-familiar baby blues opened up and a smile spread across her face. She may not have been a morning person, but Sofia was her best friend. She was clearly happy to see her.

"Happy birthday, Faith Evelyn," Arizona smiled as well. "You're two now!"

"Two?" she mumbled.

"Two!" Callie replied. "Can you believe it?"

"No."

"Want to go have super special Faith's birthday waffles?" she wondered. "No special diet today. It's supposed to be a fun day, right?"

"Faith can have candy?" Sofia asked.

"Later on," Arizona nodded.

"Yay!"

"How about those waffles first?" Callie suggested.

"No," Faith said, clearly not ready to leave her bed.

"Getting you to wake up isn't going to happen when you're in high school, is it?" Callie asked.

"No," Faith agreed.

"Let's read stories first," Arizona said, handing Sofia one of Faith's story books.

Sofia didn't like reading when she had to practice as part of her first grade homework, so they always tried to make it less of a chore. She loved reading to her siblings, so that's how they got her practice in.

"I like this one," Sofia told Faith. "It's about Winnie the Pooh."

* * *

After the story, Faith decided that it was a good time for some breakfast. She started laughing uncontrollably when she realized that Madre had put two candles into her waffle. They sang the quickest rendition of "Happy Birthday" that they could because their girl was all about her special birthday waffle. If they didn't hurry it up, she was just going to dive right in herself.

"Make a wish and blow the candle out," Arizona told her.

Of course, Faith was more attracted to the tiny flames than anything else. Her little mind was curious. Madre had to hold back her hands, which didn't impress her very much.

"Make a wish and blow them out," Arizona said. "Like you did at your party. Like blowing bubbles."

"Yay!" Faith replied.

"Sofia, can you help?" Callie asked.

Sofia happily blew out her sister's candles. She made a wish, too, but she wasn't about to tell anyone. She had heard that only the wishes that nobody knew about came true.

"Eat!" Faith squealed when the candles were blown out.

"Have at it," Callie said, removing the candles and cutting her daughter's breakfast into pieces for her. "There."

"What do you say?" Arizona asked.

"Yum."

"Thank you!" Mommy corrected her.

"Or gracias," Sofia said. "We talk in Spanish, too."

"Right," Callie nodded.

Faith picked up one of the syrupy waffle pieces and put it into her mouth. Her eyes grew wide at the sweet taste that she had been missing out on now that she was waiting for her new heart.

"Is it delicious?" Arizona asked her, taking a picture. "Dr. Brady would frown upon this, huh? But we'll be extra healthy all of the other days."

Faith purposely tossed a piece onto the floor in an attempt to share with her favourite four-legged family member.

"Do we give that to the puppy?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah."

"No!" she smiled. "Crazy girl! Are we breaking all of the rules today?"

"Yeah!"

"Too bad we can't break this one," Callie said as she got the first of Faith's meds. ready.

The little girl started crying. Even though she had been taking them for her whole life, she hated them with a passion still.

"It's okay, Faith," Sofia said. "Do it quick then you get stickers. And we'll sing the 'Happy Birthday' song again."

"You're such a nice sister," Arizona smiled.

Thinking back to her childhood, she couldn't say that she was always this kind to her brother. They had a bond that even his death hadn't completely broken, but still. They had also had more than their fair share of moments. Other than a few spats here and there, Sofia and Faith hadn't had any of those yet. It was as if their biggest girl didn't bother because she knew just how fragile life was. Even at her age, she knew not to take her sister status for granted. This was both sad and sweet all at once.

"After this, you get to pick _all _of the fun we have for the whole rest of our day," Callie told Faith. "Okay, brave girl?"

* * *

With a little help from her parents and her sister, Faith chose many activities that made her second birthday a blast. They played in the snow, went out for a fun lunch, stopped by a candy store, went shopping for a new toy, and finally had a macaroni and cheese dinner followed by a bubble bath.

Then, just before bedtime, Faith seemed interested in opening up one of the birthday toys that she had yet to take much interest in until now. It was a little radio that played a few kid-friendly songs. She loved it and it had turned into a family dance party of sorts. Somehow the little girl who would typically be completely exhausted by this time of night was still dancing well past her bedtime.

"Are you having fun?" Mommy asked, going up to her and sweeping her off her feet for one last go around their makeshift living room dance floor as the "ABCs" played.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Fun, Mama, fun!"

"Was this a good birthday?" Callie wondered.

"How old are you today, Faith?"

"Two," she answered.

"Two!" she smiled. "Happy birthday, Baby."

"No baby," she insisted.

"Don't say that!" Arizona told her. "You're our baby forever and ever and ever. Got it?"


	24. Just A Little Bit Farther

Five-and-a-half weeks later, Callie found herself in Faith's room packing up the items that her little girl would need for her next hospital stay. The Fontan – as well as the procedure to replace Faith's damaged heart valve with a mechanical one – was to take place in just two days.

"What are you doing, Madre?" Sofia asked, coming into her little sister's room to find Callie putting things into a big yellow and white bag.

"Doin', Ma?" Faith mimicked.

"Faith, you don't have to say everything I say," Sofia told her. "And it's _Madre_. Say '_Madre_.'"

"Ma-day," she tried.

"Not quite, huh? Close!" Callie smiled. "I'm packing up a bag for Faith to take with her when we bring her to have her surgery."

"Can I help?"

"I told you twenty minutes ago that you have to get ready to go to Daddy's," she answered. "You're still in pyjamas and I didn't hear you go into your room to get your backpack so that you can do your math homework this weekend. Go get dressed and do that first, please. Then, if there's time, I'd be happy to have you help me."

"Fine," she said, with a touch of attitude.

"You're six, not sixteen," Callie replied. "No attitude, Sofia."

She left the room, but her tiny side-kick stayed behind. She was just watching as Madre folded up a pair of pyjamas and added them to the bag.

"Them mes," she told her in that perfectly sweet, slightly squeaky voice of hers.

"They're yours?" Callie asked. "I know. Can we bring them for after your surgery so you can be comfortable?"

"Yep," she agreed.

"What else should we bring?" Callie asked.

She was basically finished packing for Faith, but she did want to let her add a few comfort items of her choice. She needed these reminders of home when she was recovering, and letting her decide what to bring gave her some control in a situation that was otherwise being controlled by so many other decision-makers.

"Mama," she decided.

"Mama'll be there," Callie said. "Mama and I both will be and Sister will visit."

"Yeah."

"What comfy things do we need?" she asked. "Your favourite blanky? We need to bring that, don't we?"

"Yeah," she decided. "Nigh' night."

"For night nights?" she asked. "You spend a lot of time going night night in the hospital, huh?"

"Yep."

"What else? Want to choose a special buddy?" she suggested, opening Faith's toy box where all of her dolls and stuffed animals were kept.

Faith looked inside and pulled one out. It was a soft white teddy bear who she had received from her Abuelo while she was still in Mommy's belly.

"That one?" Callie asked, taking it. "I'm not sure white buddies are so good for the hospital, but we'll try not to get him dirty."

She pulled out a doll whose blond locks and blue eyes matched her own. She was really into pretend play right now and this "little Faith" was a favourite.

"And that one?" Madre asked.

Next, Faith grabbed three small animals – a pig, a dog, and a cat – out of the box. These ones weren't even favourites of hers, so Callie got the hint that she didn't know when to stop.

"Okay, that's a lot of buddies," she said. "I think they'll keep you company perfectly. Can the others stay home in their box?"

"No."

"They like it in there," she said.

"Yeah?"

"They do," she nodded. "Thanks for helpin' me pack up."

"Up, up, up!" she repeated, being silly as she twirled around in a circle. "Whoa!"

"Did you get dizzy?"

"Yeah," she said. "Whoa."

"Be careful," she smiled.

* * *

"Still no surgery?" Lexie asked as she – and for some reason unknown to Callie and Arizona – Maxwell came into the hospital room late into the afternoon of the big day.

They knew that delays happened. Emergencies got priority and sometimes that meant that other procedures were pushed back. Still, waiting all day – an extra six hours – with a two-year-old was no fun. Lexie could see the wear on their faces. Luckily, the toddler had just fallen asleep in Madre's arms. All of the fussing she had been doing over wanting to go home, wanting to eat, and wanting to go play outside had made her pretty tired. Of course they hated that she had cried herself to sleep, but they were glad that she wasn't as frustrated as they were for at least a few minutes while she got in a little nap.

"Nope," Arizona replied. "I hate to sound like every other upset family member, but this is really getting annoying."

Callie laughed. "Yep."

"It's bad enough that we have to send her back into surgery, but the delay is making it worse. She doesn't understand what's going on."

"Yeah."

"What are you doing here, Mr. Max?" Callie questioned as the little man climbed up onto the chair beside her.

Faith's blanket was still on it because she had just been sitting there moments before she dozed off. Staying in the hospital bed was just too much for her, so she had wanted to move around. Maxwell picked up the blanket and put it over top of Faith's little legs instead.

"Oh, thanks," she said. "Are you skipping out of daycare today? Helping Mom and Dad work?"

"I made the mistake of letting him see me when I went to tell the teacher that Derek's picking him up today because Mark's got a full day and I have to prepare for an M&M tomorrow," Lexie replied.

"M M's?" her son asked.

"Not the candy," she said. "Mommy doesn't have M&M's.

"So now you've got a sidekick," Arizona smiled.

"For a little bit," Lexie said. "And then you're going to go back to daycare, right Max?"

"Teeeennnnn minute," he nodded.

Even though he didn't really have any idea how long ten minutes was, this was their deal. Lexie knew that he would try and try to make it longer, but she wasn't giving in.

"Well, you're lucky," Callie said.

Mark came into the room. Maxwell was clearly excited to see his dad, but that wasn't his daddy's reason for stopping by. Callie could tell by the fact that he barely glanced over at the kids – and didn't even ask about the delay with Faith's surgery – that something else was going on.

"What?"

"The school just called and said Sofia's sick," he replied. "I'm pretty sure it's more like she just decided that she doesn't want to stay at school while her sister has surgery. We gave her the choice and she went, but…"

"Yeah," Arizona agreed.

"If she's not actually sick, should I bring her here?" he wondered. "She's going to ask."

"No," Callie said. "Watching Faith go into surgery is hard enough. We don't need Sof here for that part."

"I think she'd be okay," Arizona replied.

"She's not even able to stay at school," she told her.

"True."

"Tell her she can come tomorrow," Callie said.

"Okay," he nodded.

"Hi, Daddy," Maxwell smiled.

"Hi, Buddy. Why aren't you -?"

"I went in and he saw me," Lexie explained.

"Ah."

"Faith's sleepin'," the little boy commented.

"She's had a rough day," Callie explained.

The sad thing was, even if their daughter was getting a little break now, they knew that her day was going to get much worse. They knew that Faith needed those procedures. Without having them, she would eventually die. They were not about to let that happen by any means. However, they still felt like they were torturing her sometimes.

"Poor Faith," he replied.

"Max, I might as well bring you home with me," Mark said. "We'll go cheer Sofia up."

"My Sofia sad, Daddy?" he asked, getting down out of the chair.

"Yeah."

"Why, Daddy?"

"Because her sister has to have a surgery."

"Why, Daddy?"

"The doctors are going to help her get a little bit better."

"Ohhhh…"

Dr. Brady and Teddy came into the room. It appeared like they were finally ready. They had that look on their faces. It was the one that expressed confidence that they could perform the procedures, but at the same time, the one that expressed a kind of sadness because they knew that the wait would be tough for the moms once again. After that, Faith's recovery would be even tougher. They loved their jobs, but that side of it wasn't easy.

"We're ready," he said.

Callie kissed her on her little lips. After Arizona did the same, Madre simply handed the still sleeping girl over to Teddy.

"Are you sure -?" she wondered.

"If we wake her, she'll only be scared."

"Okay."

Faith began to stir all on her own, however. Teddy went to hand her back to Callie, but the Latina shook her head.

"You go with Auntie Teddy, okay?" she simply told her with one more kiss. "We'll see you later."

"Yeah."

"We love you," Arizona said, wiping away a tear that Faith couldn't see.

"Yeah."

"You love them, too?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah."

* * *

Two hours later, Alex had just come to tell the ladies that Faith's surgery was proving to be a little more complicated than most. Once again, Faith had lost a lot of blood, but they did have it under control now. She was going to need a transfusion again.

"We have the best people in there that we could possibly have," Arizona said. "How come that doesn't even seem a tiny bit comforting?"

"Because she's our toddler and these two procedures will be her third and fourth. There's no way to be okay with that."

Sometimes it was hard to believe that Faith was still that young. It felt like they had been through too much in her little life for it to have only been two years years. They had just spent time on her birthday thinking she was so big, but this put things back into prospective again.

"And this won't even be the last time she goes through this."

"I know."

Callie received a text from her father asking how things were going. She and Arizona had been trying to keep their parents updated all day long. She texted back the latest development and then put her phone down. She did want their families to know, but having to explain the medicine to them wasn't easy right now. At this moment, all she wanted to do was keep praying that she'd get her girl back at the end of the day.

Both of their phones buzzed a few minutes later. Arizona decided to check hers just because she knew that it was difficult for their parents to be so far away – and slightly disconnected – at a time like this.

She smiled when she saw that the text wasn't from any of the grandparents, but instead from Mark. It was a picture of Sofia giggling as her brother attempted – and failed – to crack an egg and ended up covered in egg yolk. There was a message with it that explained that their daughter was certainly not sick. All she needed was a little distraction from the stress of the day's events.

"Good."

"What?"

"Sofia's okay."

"We knew she would be."

"I know," she nodded. "But still. I never really thought she was sick, but it kills me that she's so nervous. That she understands that this is scary. She shouldn't have to."

"No," she agreed. "Definitely not.

"Just a little bit farther, right?" Arizona asked.

"What?"

"We've made it this far," she said. "We've fought this condition for two years. I say 'we' because it's been hard for everybody, but it's mostly Faith. She's gone through it all. She's come a long way. All we need now is a heart. Just a little farther and we can hopefully stop having to put her through this at some point."

Even if Faith did receive a new heart, they knew that she would still have to be monitored very closely. It would not mean that she would be completely fine forever. However, it would be the closest that they would ever come to having her be a healthy child. To them, it would mean everything. Today, Arizona had decided to focus on that. One day they would hopefully be able to stop putting Faith through all of this.

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

**I know you all are anxious for Faith to get a new heart. I am too. Thanks for being patient, guys. You're awesome. I love all of the reviews.**


	25. Post-Op Complications

**Yet again, I am blown away by the lovely reviews. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

* * *

"Okay, we've got coffees, bagels, and some apple juice for Fai –"

As usual, everyone at Seattle Grace-Mercy West had rallied around them and made sure they were taken care of. Today, Mark had gone down to the cafeteria to get them breakfast. He figured they were probably getting sick of eating in there and it might be nice to stay with Faith this morning.

However, as he came to make the delivery, he was caught off guard. It had been sixteen days since the last surgery and Faith had been doing great. In fact, they suspected that she would be discharged in the next week or so. Clearly that wasn't going to happen now, though. No, today, Faith was re-intubated.

"What happened?" he asked. "Last night she was fine. She even had some energy. She wanted to go run around with Sofia, Max, and Hershey and you had to stop her. Twelve hours later she's intubated again?"

"Alex did an echo and found three clots. Pretty big ones, too," Callie replied. "So they had to go in and remove those."

"Still doesn't explain the intubation."

"They tried to extabate her in the O.R.," Arizona said. "Teddy figured that she had been doing well enough that it might actually work. Studies show better outcomes with shorter intubation periods. Needless to say, it didn't go well. She was breathing, but it was very, very shallow and her oxygen saturation..."

"Oh."

"They tried again at...what time?" Callie asked.

Understandably, it had been a long, difficult night. They were so exhausted, both physically and emotionally, that she had lost track of some of the details.

"Four," Arizona said. "But by that time, she was tired. Not only had she just had surgery, but it was the middle of the night. She wasn't alert enough and she'd forget to breathe."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Makes sense. They're just going to keep trying today?"

"That's the plan," Arizona replied. "My parents are flying in at six tonight, so that would be a good time to bring Sofia if she wants to come tonight."

"I work until six, but after that, I will. Wait. Your parents are coming?" Mark wondered.

Then he realized why he hadn't heard any of this before. She must have made these arrangements with them in the middle of the night, out of fear that Faith had taken a permanent turn for the worst.

"My dad is, too," Callie nodded.

"She's just not strong enough yet," Alex said, walking into the room. "It doesn't mean..."

"She's had three procedures in the last sixteen days," Arizona replied. "One was just seven hours ago."

"Exactly. Give it time."

"What if her little body just can't take it?" Callie asked.

Of course, they didn't want to give up. Quitting wasn't an option when it came to either of their children. They still wanted to believe that Faith would live to be an old woman with a great life. They didn't want to even give any other outcome the time of day. Yet, at the same time, they didn't want to put their child through procedure after procedure, test after test, if it wasn't going to help. They wanted to be told when enough was enough.

"We're not there yet," Alex said. "It's a good thing that your parents are coming because you could use the support, but they don't need to come. Faith's not going anywhere."

"You can't promise that kind of thing," Arizona told him.

"Robbins, it's been seven hours," he said. "You're a mom. The medicine wasn't what you thought of first. You weren't expecting this. I get that. I'm telling you that it's much too soon to start panicking."

"She's going to be fine," Mark told his best friends as he handed over their breakfast. "She's had setbacks before. This one's scary, but she's fighting. I have a consult to go do in a minute, but page me if you need anything. Anything at all."

"Thanks, Mark."

"I'm going to lower her sedation," Alex said as Mark left the room. "She won't be as comfortable, but it should help. She just might be too out of it to breathe on her own."

"Yeah."

"Brady's coming this morning, right?" Callie asked.

They had let him know what was happening last night, but he been about two hours away visiting family. By the time he got back to Seattle, there was nothing much else he could do that the rest of Faith's team hadn't done already.

"Yes," Dr. Brady nodded, walking into the room right on time. "I've already been in contact with UNOS, too. All I have to do is send her latest test results to them and it should get her bumped up a few spots."

"So you don't think she'll recover until she gets a new heart?"

"No, I think she will," he corrected her. "But still. This complication makes a difference. If we can get her the heart sooner rather than later, we need to. If she had it already, there would have been no Fontan or mechanical valve, meaning there would have been no clots. We knew the Fontan wasn't going to go perfectly, but it's just proof that she needs a transplant as soon as possible."

"Yeah," Arizona agreed. "Hear that, Faith? Dr. Brady's gonna try to make those people find you a new super special heart soon. That'll be good. We need to get rid of this broken heart, huh?"

"Are you actually going to eat any of this?" Callie asked, knowing that she didn't have the appetite right now.

"I'll take the juice," Arizona said. "But no."

"I know you don't want to hear this, but –" Dr. Brady started to say.

"We have to take care of ourselves so that we can take care of her," Mommy finished. "I give that speech at least ten times a day. I know. Only, right now, we can't _do_ anything for her. I can't fix her. Trust me, if I could give her my heart, I would. Even if it meant I'd die so she could live. I'd trade places with her in a second. I can't, though. We can do nothing but sit here and hope she starts to breathe on her own. Hope for a heart, too."

"And pray," Callie added.

"That too."

"You're doing just what Faith needs you to," Alex said. "She has a bunch of doctors handling the medicine. She needs her moms to hold her hand and tell her it's going to be okay. You've been doing that. Stop beating yourselves up."

Both moms started crying.

"It's easier said than done," Callie told him.

"I'm sure it is," he nodded. "But you've never let her down before."

* * *

"Are you lookin' around?" Grandma asked Faith shortly after they arrived that evening.

They had made it clear to their daughter and daughter-in-law that they hadn't rushed to Seattle to say their goodbyes. They fully believed that Faith would be just fine. However, they heard a desperation in their daughter's voice late last night that told them that they were needed. Their little girl was taking care of her own child now, but she still needed her parents at a time like this.

"Grandma, Grandpa and Abuelo came to visit, Faith," Callie smiled. "They heard you feel bad and they want to help make you happy again."

Faith started making a noise that sounded like she was coughing or choking. All three of the grandparents panicked, even though they tried not to. They didn't want the fear to show on their faces, but they weren't sure what was happening.

"It's okay," Arizona said. "It's good, actually."

"Good?" Carlos asked.

Faith's little hands reached up to pull at the tube.

"She's fighting the intubation," Callie explained, as Arizona held their daughter's hands back. "It means she can breathe over it on her own."

"Good," Arizona's dad smiled. "Good job, Faith."

"Hold on one second," Arizona told her little one. "We'll get that tube out of there in a minute. It worked! Alex was right. Lowering your sedation worked!"

Callie opened the door to Faith's room and saw Alex just down the hall. "Karev!" she called. "Faith's fighting intubation."

"Good," he said, coming into the room and getting a pair of gloves on. "I'm just gonna get that thing out, okay?" he tried to explained to the scared toddler. "One, two, three."

On three, he removed the tube and Faith coughed again.

"Okay," Arizona said, sitting her up a little. "It's okay. You've got to get that airway all cleared out, right?"

"Take deep breaths," Callie instructed. "Like right before we blow the bubbles."

Faith caught her breath and started to calm down. It was hard for her to understand all that she was feeling because she was so young and so much had gone on.

"Is that better?" Alex asked. "Yeah. Those lungs work. Your moms were all worried and you're doing okay now."

Faith put her hand to her throat and tried to talk, but they couldn't quite make out what she was trying to say.

"Does that hurt?" Grandma asked.

"Want some cold water?" Arizona wondered. "That'll help."

"Yeah," she managed to say.

Callie went and got Faith some water and held the cup to her lips. Faith, who classified herself as a big girl these days, wanted nothing to do with this. She wrapped her own little hands around the paper cup and squeezed it, spilling some water.

"It's okay," Mommy told her. "Let Madre help, though. We'll get you your cup later. For now, let us do it for you, Big Girl."

She complied and took a little sip.

"Better?" Abuelo asked.

"Ouch," she said.

"Your throat hurts?" Arizona kissed her. "We know. That silly tube did that. We don't like it either. It'll feel better soon."

"Faith, Sofia's coming in a few minutes," Callie smiled. "She'll be so happy to see no tube in your throat."

Mark and Lexie were bringing the big sister for a visit even if Faith was still intubated, but now the visit was going to be a much better one, they assumed. Sure, Faith didn't have the energy to play, but it was just easier for Sofia to see her this way.

"No," Faith said.

"Right," Barbara nodded. "No tube for Faith!"

"Brady spoke to UNOS and they did move her up on the list," Alex said. "That's the only news we have, but..."

"Good," Callie said.

"And Brady's pretty sure that the blood thinner is going to become a must even after discharge to prevent the blood clots again."

"But what happens when we get a transplant call and they're still in her system? She already has a tendency to lose large amounts of blood and without being able to take her off of them in the few days before surgery..." Callie replied.

"There are things they can do," Arizona said. "Right now, we just want a heart. We can deal with the details later."

"Somebody became Miss Positive all of the sudden. This morning you were calling your mom because you were sure she was..."

Arizona took a deep breath. "I can only take so much," she said. "Yes, I'm terrified of our two-year-old being on blood thinners while going into surgery. Trust me. It's all I'm going to think about until she's got that new heart beating in her chest. But what am I supposed to say right now?"

"True."


	26. Maybe

**I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I've been busy with school and things keep popping up that have prevented me from writing. I am also sorry that this is short, but if I made it longer, it would have never gotten up. I'm hoping/expecting to have more time this week, so that's a good sign :)**

* * *

"Daddy said Faith had a tube in her froat," Sofia told them all a few minutes after Mark dropped her off. "She doesn't have a tube in her froat. Right, Faith?"

"Throat," Arizona corrected, even though she secretly loved the traces of such a tiny girl inside of her oldest child. "And she did. Alex just took it out for her."

"Good," she said. "She feels better now?"

"Well, she's still feeling not so great," Callie explained, placing Faith's favourite blanket over her. "But I'm sure she's happy you're here."

"She looks really sleepy."

"She is," Arizona replied.

Her sedation had been lowered, which meant that Faith was in a considerable amount of pain. She may not have been intubated tonight, but they knew that they were still in for a tough evening. Faith started crying, partly due to her pain but also because she wasn't sure what was going on.

"Mama," she quietly requested.

Arizona picked her up with some help from Callie since all of the tubes and wires attached to their toddler made this transition tricky.

"Should we sit and cuddle?" Arizona asked.

"Do you want this chair or are you good there?" Callie wondered, suspecting that her wife may be stuck in the same position for quite a while.

"I'm okay," she said. "Huh, Faith?"

"Ouch," she replied.

"I know it hurts," she said, kissing her dry little lips. "I know. I wish Mommy could make it stop."

"Want a toy, Faith?" Sofia asked, picking up one of her sister's stuffed animals. "Maybe that'll make you happy."

"Sof, how about we go get some dinner?" Callie suggested. "Did you eat at Daddy's?"

"No."

"Let's go eat," Abuelo said.

"I want to stay with Faith, okay?"

They tried not to tell Sofia no very much whenever she made this request. It was hard for her to be away from her sister so much, so they tried to let her have as much time with her as she could. This often meant just sitting by her hospital bed, but it was better than nothing. However, Callie sensed that Sofia was feeling as helpless as they were and she didn't want to put her six-year-old through that. They would come back a little later, but she wasn't sure that watching Faith cry out in pain was what Sofia needed to witness tonight.

"Let's just go have dinner, please," Callie said. "We'll come back."

"Pick me out something good to eat, please," Arizona told Sofia.

She was pretty sure this meant that she would end up with a dinner of French fries, chicken fingers or macaroni and cheese, but she didn't really care. Nothing really seemed good to her.

"What does Faith want?"

"Oh, I don't think Faith's hungry."

"Faith, are you hungry?" Sofia asked.

"No," Faith said, gripping onto Mommy's shirt.

"I'm staying with you," she assured her. "It's okay."

"Could I give her a kiss?" Sofia wondered.

Callie lifted her up so that Arizona wouldn't have to reposition Faith. The two-year-old was turned in to face Mommy, and she didn't want to disturb her any further.

Sofia kissed her sister. "We'll be right back, Faith. I think you need a nap."

"I think so, too," Grandma agreed.

They were all hoping that Faith would somehow just drift off to sleep. Surely it would be interrupted by the pain and the nurses who had been checking in on her, but they just wanted her to get some relief.

"Let's go eat," Grandpa told Sofia. "What are you going to eat?"

"Can I have chocolate?"

"For dinner?" Callie asked. "Nice try."

* * *

Teddy came to check on Faith shortly after everyone went down to the cafeteria. At first Arizona didn't notice her in the doorway.

"Ouch, Mama," Faith said.

"I know," she replied. "I know it hurts. But you know what? You're such a tough girl. And soon, you're going to get a new heart and you're going to start to feel a whole lot better. No more hypoplastic left heart syndrome for Faith. Soon, I hope."

"Me too," Teddy agreed. "Nothing yet, though. I think UNOS might be sick of the phone calls. Between me, Brady, and Karev..."

Arizona smiled. Faith's status hadn't changed since that morning, so those phone calls to UNOS weren't likely to do anything unless they had new information to provide. However, she did take comfort in all of the support that they were receiving. It made it a little easier to keep waiting.

"How's her dressing?" she asked.

"It could use a change," Arizona said.

Typically a nurse or an intern would do this, but Teddy made an exception for Faith. She wasn't even Faith's primary doctor, yet she tried to do as much for her as possible.

"Okay."

"I could just –" Arizona said, knowing that Teddy probably had other patients. "It's a dressing change."

"You're Mom," she told her. "She hates this. You should get to be the one who comforts her when it's over, not the one who does it."

Arizona stood up and put Faith back in the bed. She started crying even louder right away, since she knew what was going to happen.

"Shhh..." Arizona replied. "Auntie Teddy just wants to put a new dressing on there. Then we'll cuddle some more."

"I'm sorry, Faith," Teddy said. "This is no fun, is it?"

"Go home?" Faith cried.

Arizona kissed her. "Not today. I wish we could."

"Should we just get this over with so that you can relax with Mom?" Teddy asked. "Let's make it quick. We don't like it, do we?"

"Maday?" Faith asked, so softly through her cries that Arizona almost didn't hear it.

"You want Madre?" she asked. "She'll be back soon, okay? She went to get dinner."

"Oh."

"Let's get this over with," Teddy said, starting the dressing change.

* * *

"Want a sip?" Arizona asked.

They had brought their dinner back up to the room and she was trying to eat one handed as she cradled their toddler with the other. Faith's little eyes were tracking her water bottle now. She wasn't saying much other than comments about how much it hurt, but Mommy figured she'd ask.

"Yeah."

"She can have my chocolate milk," Sofia offered.

"Water's all Faith needs right now," Grandma explained. "But you're a good sister."

"I only share if the little kids are nice," she said. "Sometimes they don't listen, but Faith's in the hospital and she's bein' nice."

Callie laughed. "She's nice at other times, too. So is Max."

"Yeah."

Dr. Brady appeared at the door just as Arizona was about to give Faith a drink of water. They were surprised to see that he was there. They thought he had gone home a few hours ago.

"What are you doing here?" Callie asked. "She's about the same. Her pain's out of control, but-"

"UNOS called."

"UNOS called?!" Callie repeated. "Hear that, Faith?"

"Who's UNOS?" Sofia asked.

"The people who give new hearts," Arizona's dad told her.

"There's a heart at Seattle Pres.," the doctor continued. "She's not first in line for it, but if there's a reason that the other recipient isn't suitable for the transplant, she's the next best candidate. It's a bit of a long shot, but..."

"So we wait?" Mrs. Robbins asked.

"Yes," he said. "Please tell me she hasn't eaten anything. If she has we can still...but..."

"Nope," Arizona replied. "She's had a sip or two of water, but that's all."

"Faith might get a new heart?" Sofia asked.

"Maybe," Callie smiled. "If she does, you're going to go back to Daddy's, okay? I know we told you that you'd go back to our house with Grand-"

"It's okay," she decided. "I hope she gets her new heart."

"Me too," Abuelo smiled.


	27. Things Are Looking Up

**Thanks again for all of the reviews! I know you all really want to know what happens next, so I wanted to get this up for you as soon as I could.** :)

* * *

"Watch. When you unfold it, it makes a heart," Lexie told Sofia as she unfolded the construction paper heart she had just made.

"It's perfect."

Faith didn't get the heart from the patient at Seattle Presbyterian. She was still waiting, but she was doing better now that a week and a half had gone by. Sofia and Lexie were taking advantage of this Sunday afternoon to decorate her hospital room for Valentine's day while Callie and Arizona met with Dr. Brady about Faith's medications. Some of them had been causing side-effects that they wanted to resolve as soon as possible.

Sofia took the heart from her step-mom and held it up to show her sister.

"Look, Faith," she told her. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Yeah," the now twenty-six month-old nodded.

"How are you doing, Faith?" Lexie asked. "Want anything?"

Faith was still in pain, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before. She was still very tired, but that was to be expected.

"Eat," Faith decided.

Lexie had tried to give her some applesauce about twenty minutes ago, but she hadn't wanted very much of it. One of the side-effects of her medication that Callie and Arizona had been worried about was a loss of appetite. They didn't expect Faith to want to eat full meals right now, but sometimes getting anything in her was a struggle. This, to Lexie's knowledge, was the first time she had actually requested food all on her own since before her surgery.

"You want something to eat?" she asked. "What would you like? Applesauce?"

"Yeah."

"I'll ask somebody to get you more," Lexie told her. "Sofia ate your other one."

"But it was really good," Sofia smiled. "You'll like it."

Lexie laughed. She could see Alex right outside of the room, so she opened the door and called to him.

"What?" he asked.

"Faith wants applesauce," she said. "She actually just asked me to eat. Hurry up before she changes her mind."

"Alright, Faith!" he smiled. "You're feeling good today, huh?"

She nodded.

"I'll be right back."

"Faith, say 'thank you,'" Sofia told her sister. "Alex is doing something nice."

Really, Faith wasn't sure how she felt about Dr. Karev. Yes, she did like him. Her moms seemed to think he was a pretty good guy. Still, he had done many of the tests and other things that she didn't like on her. Some days she liked him, but other days she wasn't exactly his biggest fan.

"Where are Robbins and Torres?" Alex asked Lexie.

"Meeting with Brady."

"Oh."

* * *

The moms returned to Faith's room to find Lexie helping Faith to finish off the applesauce. Needless to say they were surprised that she appeared to have a much better appetite today. After they had just spent their time talking about side-effects and unpleasant things that came along with Faith's condition, this was just what they needed to see.

"You had a snack, Faith?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah," Faith nodded.

"She even _asked_ for her snack. I didn't have to talk her into it," Lexie added.

"Good," Callie nodded. "That's good news. We needed good news, didn't we?"

"Me and Lexie were making decorations for Faith's room for Valentine's day," Sofia said, holding one of them up. "'Cause you said Faith doesn't get to go home."

"Not yet," Arizona replied. "I think she'll love her decorations, though."

"More?" Faith asked.

At first, no one even had a response. The fact that Faith had an appetite at all was impressive given how she had been since her last procedure. Now she wanted seconds? It seemed too good to be true.

"We'll get you more," Callie finally said. "You're a hungry kid today, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"How'd the meeting go?" Lexie asked.

"Not bad," Arizona asked.

"I tried to get him to lower the dosage for her blood thinners and he won't budge," Callie said. I know he's right. We can't risk another clot. But I'm worried about how they're going to manage the next surgery since they probably won't have time to get her off of them first. I thought that even if we just lowered the dose a little..."

"You barely even sound like a doctor right now," Arizona said. "They expect the blood loss. They can be ready for it. If she strokes out or–"

"I know," she said. "Logically, I know that. It just makes me nervous. Along with the fifty million other things that make me nervous. Like why we don't have a heart yet. Or why H.L.H.S. exists in the first place."

"Faith's just got to wait," Sofia said.

This is how they had explained it to Sofia the night that Faith didn't get her first potential transplant. They told her that it was someone else's turn to get their new heart. Faith's turn hadn't come yet. Though, Sofia didn't understand that Faith couldn't wait forever. Her turn had to come before it was too late. This is what was concerning her madre.

"I know."

Arizona kissed her wife. Of course, she was worried as well. However, right now, all she wanted to do was celebrate Faith's latest victory. They had had enough let downs and hard days lately.

"It's a good day," she smiled. "Stop it."

Callie smiled. "Okay."

"More," Faith requested again.

"Are we taking too long to get you that applesauce?" Mommy smiled. "Okay. I'll go get some."

"I'm going to go," Lexie said. "Mark's shift starts in a little over an hour and Max made it very clear that he does not like the daycare on the weekends without his favourite weekday teachers and friends. Usually he doesn't get his way, but today he can."

Callie smiled. "Thanks, Lexie."

"No problem," she said. "Anytime. Though, I hope she's home sooner rather than later."

"So do we."

"More," Faith said again.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Mommy replied.

"She's eating," Callie replied. "Don't make her wait!"

* * *

A few days later, on Valentine's day, Arizona walked back into Faith's room with some more of her new favourite. They had gotten her to eat other things, but applesauce was still number one on the list of Faith-approved foods.

She smiled at the sight of Callie asleep in the chair with Faith in her arms. Their two-year-old had been doing much better, but she still had rough times during the night where all she wanted was to be held. Last night, Madre had been her companion of choice.

Callie awoke as if she knew that her wife had returned. "Hey," she said. "Last night wasn't too bad, huh?"

"Nope," she replied. "Things are looking up. I talked to Brady this morning and he said that she should be able to go home next week if she keeps this up. She'll be on pain meds., of course, but she won't need to be here."

"He said that or you negotiated with him?"

"There may have been a little convincing on my part," she admitted.

"I thought so."

"But really. Her stats have been fine since she was extubated, she's had two more echos that have both been as good as they're going to get, she's eating well now, and she's got two surgeons for parents. Other than the pain, which we can control from home, she should be okay to go. She can rest in her own bed. She doesn't need the constant monitoring anymore. One more week and we're out of here. Unless they have a heart for her. In that case, we'll gladly stay."

"Yeah."

"Things are looking up," she smiled.

"They are."

"Happy Valentine's day."

"Happy Valentine's day. This is the second not-so-romantic Valentine's day we've had in a row," she pointed out. "_Next_ year is going to be _very _happy."

"Agreed," Callie smiled. "This Valentine's day isn't so great so far. Especially, considering the fact that her diaper is definitely leaking on me right now."

"Excellent," Arizona joked.

Faith was sound asleep and her madre just didn't have the heart to move her in order to do the diaper change. It wasn't worth it. Any time that Faith was comfortable was much better. She would wake up soon and she could change her then.

"Alex came in wanting to do another echo," Callie told her. "I wasn't about to dare wake her for that. The nurses have to disturb her enough throughout the night. He'll be back."

"Okay," she said. "I brought breakfast, but your hands are a little full."

"Or covered in urine," Callie added. "I'll wait, thanks."

Luckily, Faith woke up on her own just ten minutes later. She opened her baby blues and looked right up at Madre this morning, actually seeming happy to be awake.

"Hi," Callie said, giving her a kiss. "Happy Valentine's day, Faith."

"Yeah?"

"It's Valentine's day," Mommy told her. "I went home and got you some new pink jammies to put on. Those ones need to be washed and we can get into the Valentine's day spirit, right?"

"Valentine's day spirit?" Callie asked. "Is that a thing?"

"Yep!"

"Okay," she laughed. "Faith, can we change you. This diaper needs a change."

"No."

"Yes, please."

She stood up and laid her daughter down on the bed to change her. Even though Faith hadn't been too happy about this, she did decide to just lay there and cooperate instead of whining about it.

"Potty training you will be quite the challenge, I think," Callie predicted. "You don't even care if you're diaper's wet most of the time these days."

"And we could get a call for the transplant in the middle of potty training and have that set her back," Mommy pointed out.

"That too," Callie agreed. "Sofia wasn't any fun to potty train either. Isn't that how it's supposed to go? If the first one's hard, the second one's easier?"

"Have you been living our life?" Arizona pointed out. "Does that logic seem to apply?"

"True."

"Plus, I don't think that matters. I think you get the kids you get regardless."

"Yep."

"But things are looking up, Madre," Arizona smiled.

"They are," she nodded. "I still think H.L.H.S. should have never existed, though."

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"Yeah!" Mommy repeated. "We want a heart that works for Faith, don't we? Not this one that makes things so hard."

"Yeah."

"Soon," Callie said.

Just then, they both received the same text from Mark. As usual, he started off by asking how Faith was that morning. Then he proceeded to tell them all about how Sofia had asked to add extra glitter to the Valentine cards that were meant for a select few of the young gentlemen in her class.

"Sofia has a crush," Arizona told Callie.

"On...?"

"Apparently about five different little boys," she laughed.

Faith giggled.

"That crazy sister!" Callie replied. "Maybe we need to worry less about potty training you and start dreading her teen years a little more."

"Yeah."


	28. Closer To Normal

**Thanks again for all of the reviews. I love them and they make me want to write a ton. :)** **I love that you love Faith as much as I do.**

* * *

"Ooo...!" Faith smiled as she watched the snow fall on that morning in late February. "Pity, Mama!"

The weeks that she had spent cooped up in the hospital had finally come to an end for now. They were on their way home and her eyes kept growing wider and wider as she took in all of the sights that she hadn't been able to see for awhile. She wasn't even a fan of the cold weather, but today, that didn't matter. She was probably just happy to be doing something normal again.

"It is pretty," Arizona smiled. "Are you happy to be out of the hospital?"

"Yep."

"Faith Evelyn, where are your hat and your mittens?" Callie laughed as she glanced back in her rear-view mirror while driving.

"Uh oh!" she answered in her tiny voice.

"Uh oh's right," Madre replied.

Before leaving, they had bundled Faith up extra well. Maybe they were a little paranoid, but the last thing they wanted was for her to catch a cold or something. However, now that they were in the car, Callie was noticing that a few select pieces of her bulky pink winter gear had gone missing.

"Did you take them off?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah," she replied, rubbing her little hands together. "Cold."

"They're cold because they need their mittens," she told her.

"Oh."

She yawned and went back to looking out the window in silence.

"Are you tired?" Callie asked.

She nodded.

"When we get home, we'll get you nice and comfy in your bed."

"Good."

Arizona looked over at Callie with the biggest smile on their face. Taking Faith home this time felt like a giant victory against the horrors of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. All of Faith's procedures had presented complications, but they were especially difficult this time.

"We're taking her home," she said.

"She still needs a heart," Callie replied, trying not to get too excited, when they could be back at the hospital putting Faith through another surgery at any time.

"Still."

"I just don't want to get comfortable," Callie said. "We know that the transplant is going to be rough. I'll be excited then. Until then, there's still so many mixed emotions. We're just...waiting to go through it all over again."

"I know," she said. "But this is our life. That's not going away until she has a new heart. But today's a great day. She gets to sleep in her bed. We get to sleep in ours. We get to have Sofia and Hershey home with us. Normal doesn't exist in this limbo we're in, but this is pretty close."

"Hi," they heard Faith say in the back

Arizona looked to realize that she was playing with a toy phone that had been left back there, most likely from the day that she was admitted.

"Who are you talkin' to, Faith?" she smiled.

"Sof," she answered.

"Are you telling her she gets to stay with you at our house tonight?"

She gasped.

"She really does!" Callie smiled.

* * *

By the time that they arrived home, Faith seemed to have some energy. They knew that she was probably better off resting, but she hadn't been able to play with many of her own toys for over a month. Right now, Faith got her way.

"Which colour is this one?" Callie asked as they sat on the floor playing with a basket full of plastic fruits and vegetables.

"Geen!" she answered.

"Green," she nodded. "Right. What kind of fruit is it? What's its name?"

"Faith," the almost twenty-seven-month-old replied.

"Not _your _name," she said. "What's the fruit's name? You know this one."

"Faith," she insisted.

"Okay, you want to do your name?" Arizona asked. "What's your whole name?"

"Faith," she smiled. "Mine."

"Faith Evelyn Torres," Arizona replied. "That's your whole name."

"You?" she asked.

"Mommy's name is Arizona," she answered.

"Whoa."

"Is that too big for you?" Callie laughed. "That's okay. You call her Mommy anyways, right?"

"Yeah."

"What do you want to play with next?" Arizona asked. "Still the fruits and veggies or something new?"

She took the apple from her Madre and brought it over to the shelf. This was the one and only time that she had ever begun to tidy her things on her own, but they wanted to see what she would do by herself. She dropped it in the wrong bucket, but at least she knew to put it away.

"Good job," she said.

"Buh bye, App."

"Bye, bye, Apple?" Callie asked. "See? You know that one. You were holding out on me!"

"When you take a nap, Mommy's going to go to the store and get some real fruits and veggies," Arizona told Faith. "And a whole bunch of other things. We don't have food in our house right now!"

"No?" she asked.

"Nope!" she replied. "Is there anything you want me to buy? I'm going to get you more applesauce, but what else?"

Even though they had gotten Faith to eat a variety of foods, she was still on an applesauce kick. They were trying to get her interested in more foods.

"What about cheese and crackers?" Callie asked. "You like that."

"Yep," she agreed.

"And I'll buy you some noodles and make you soup, too," Mommy said.

"Yuck."

"Oh, you'll like it!" Callie replied. "You're so stubborn!"

"Say 'I get that from my Madre!'" Arizona said.

"For a Maday."

"I think Mama's pretty stubborn, too," Callie told Faith. "What do you think?"

"No."

"That's right," Arizona nodded.

* * *

They weren't sure exactly where Faith's sudden burst of energy came from, but it lasted quite a while. By the time she was down for her nap and Arizona could finish up the grocery shopping, it was just about time for Sofia's school to let out. She texted Mark and Lexie to let them know that she would pick her up.

"Mommy!" the little Latina's face lit up when she saw her. "What are you doin' here?"

"Faith's home," Arizona announced, hugging her "big girl."

They had known that this would happen ahead of time, but they didn't want to tell Sofia. If something would have happened to prevent Faith's discharge, their almost seven-year-old would have been devastated. It was better to keep these things secret.

"She is?" she asked. "For real, Mommy?"

"For real, Sofia," she smiled. "She's having a nap with Madre right now."

"Did she get her new heart?"

"Not yet," she answered. "But Dr. Brady said she can go home."

"Let's go see her," she said.

"C'mon."

"Mommy...?" she asked as they walked down the hall.

"What?"

"Does Daddy know Faith's home?"

"He does," she nodded.

"Is Hershey still at his house?"

"Yeah."

"Could we go get her?" she wondered. "Faith would like that."

"Our car is full of groceries and I left our key to Daddy's house at home," she said. "I'm sure Daddy'll bring her home later."

* * *

As it turned out, Hershey was already home when Arizona and Sofia got back to the house. Mark had been on his way to pick up Sofia, but since Arizona was going to, he turned around and went to bring the dog home instead. Now, Faith's "Wub" was lying on the floor beside her bed as she rested.

"Are you taking care of Faith?" Arizona asked the chocolate lab, who's tail began wagging when she saw Arizona and Sofia.

Sofia stepped – or more like jumped – over the dog to get into her sister's room. Mommy had warned her that the two-year-old had probably used up most of her energy for the day, but all Sofia wanted to do was be close to her and welcome her home.

"You came home, Faith!" she told her. "Are you excited?"

"Nigh' nights," she said.

"You're just pretty sleepy now?" Arizona asked. "That's okay. I'm going to make Sof a snack. Do you want something?"

"No."

"Later?" Callie asked. "Maybe at dinner time?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds good," Arizona smiled.

"I wrote a story for Faith," Sofia said. "We had to write a story to read it to somebody in our family. Really, it's for Max because it has his name in it, but Faith doesn't know Max's name. I'll tell her that says Faith."

Callie laughed. "Okay."

"Do you want me to go get my story, Faith?"

"No," Faith replied.

Faith was happy to be home and to see her dog and her sister, but she was mostly just worn out at this point in the day. She didn't understand why her big sister was so full of energy. To her, it was naptime, not time to hear all about Sofia's day.

"Later, okay?" Arizona asked, giving Sofia a kiss. "I know you're really excited, but Faith needs some quiet time."

"Fine."

"We can go work on some of your other homework after your snack," Callie suggested.

"Does Faith got to go to sleep all the time?" she asked as she gave her sister a kiss.

"She's had a rough few weeks," Arizona said. "She's still working on getting better. It's like when you're sick. It sometimes takes time to get better, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

"You can sit with Faith later," Callie promised. "But she doesn't want to talk much or anything right now, okay?"

"Yeah."

* * *

"I bet that felt good, huh?" Callie asked as she dressed Faith in fresh pyjamas that night.

They still couldn't give her a full bath because of her incision, but she had just given her the best sponge bath that she had gotten in weeks. She was pretty tired still, but she had played with a few tub toys in the process, which seemed to make her happy.

"Yeah, Maday," she nodded. "Maday?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"Nigh' night?"

"Do you want to sleep in our bed or your big girl bed tonight?" she asked, giving her a kiss. "Where do you want to go night night?"

They had been discussing this all day. As much as they wanted Faith to get to sleep in her own room for the first time in a while, and as much as they wanted their bed to themselves, they weren't sure how it would go. Even though Faith was home, she would probably have a rough night again. Did they really want to keep getting up with her? After much debate, they decided to leave it up to her. They may have been creating an eventual bedtime nightmare, but this was just one of the many things that hypoplastic left heart syndrome changed for their family.

"Mama."

"With me and Mama?" she asked.

"Is that what she chose?" Arizona wondered as she came into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"We're never having S-E-X again, are we?" Callie asked.

Arizona laughed. "She won't choose our bed forever. I promise you. Once she's feeling better, we put our foot down."

"Right. I'll believe that when I see it."

"Seriously!" Arizona insisted. "H.L.H.S. or not, I fully intend to raise two self-sufficient kids."

"Yep," Callie agreed as Faith giggled. "Hear that? You're still gonna have to have big girl rules some day!"

"And plus, we're exhausted tonight," Arizona said. "It's been a long time since we've been home. There wasn't going to be any S-E-X tonight anyways."

"Okay, true," she said, yawning even though it was barely eight o'clock.

"Where is everyone?!" Sofia called out as she came up the stairs after watching the final moments of the Disney movie that was just on.

"In the bathroom!" Arizona called out.

"Faith had a bath?" she asked.

"Kind of," Callie nodded. "Now she's going to bed."

"Mama bed," Faith said, as if to rub it in.

"She gets to sleepover in your room?!" Sofia asked.

Callie looked over at Arizona as if to forbid her to invite their first grader to this slumber party of sorts. She could handle cuddling with Faith for the night. After all, she had been sleeping on a chair or a cot for over a month now. However, she didn't want her not-so-little-anymore girl in the bed too.

"Calliope..."

"What happened to raising self-sufficient kids?" she wondered.

"Starts tomorrow," she decided. "It's our first night back home. It should be special."

"What's special about her foot kicking me in the face?"

"She can sleep on my side."

"Yay!" Sofia cheered. "We get to cuddle, Faith!"

"You have to let your sister sleep," Callie warned as they headed to the bedroom. "And you have school in the morning. So if you keep waking her up, you can't stay –"

As they entered the room, they realized that Hershey had already found herself a nice spot right in the center of the bed.

"Oh, no," Callie said. "Human babies are one thing. I can't handle you in the bed, too."

"Hershey's kinda like a big pillow," Sofia said.

"Hersh, get down," Arizona ordered, actually siding with her wife on this.

The dog hopped down. Once they were settled in, even Callie couldn't deny that having all of her girls close to her was nice.

"Goodnight, girls," Arizona smiled.

"We forgot our prayers!" Sofia realized.

"We did," Callie agreed, realizing just how out of the routine they had been lately.

"Make them quick," Arizona said. "Everybody's tired."

"Not me," Sofia corrected.

"Everybody else is," she told her. "God'll understand."

"Jesus, thank you that Faith got to come home today and that Hershey likes it better back at Madre and Mommy's, too. And help the heart people get Faith a new heart soon," Sofia said.

"Amen," Callie smiled.

"Yep," Faith said.

"Goodnight, girls," Mommy said again.

"But tomorrow I got more to say," Sofia added.


	29. A Special Day

"We make an awesome team," Arizona smiled as she, Callie, and Mark stood outside of the hospital room of a four-year-old boy who they had treated together.

Deacon LaRue had been born with a rare deformity to the lower part of his left arm. At the time of his birth, his parents had been given many different treatment options. They had almost opted for an approach that would only give him partial use of the arm until they heard about the work that Callie had done in the past. It had been a long four years full of many procedures, but now the little boy would have a fully functional – and relatively normal looking – arm. Callie, Arizona, and Mark had done that. It wasn't really about them since it was about the future of a small child, but they couldn't help but feel good.

"We do," Callie nodded.

"Yep," Mark said.

Of course, their teamwork extended far beyond their careers. Surely, that wasn't far from any of their minds, especially not now. After all, tomorrow marked the seventh anniversary of their first official day of teamwork – Sofia's birthday.

"Our kid is going to be seven in less than twenty-four hours," Callie said. "Seven!"

"I feel old," Arizona replied.

"I have a grandchild out there somewhere," Mark countered. "You don't get to feel old yet."

"Shh..." Arizona said. "Grandbabies require _huge_ babies. I'll stick to the seven-year-old and the two-year-old. They're about all that I can handle."

"Yep," Callie nodded.

"How's Faith been?" Mark asked. "I haven't actually seen her in a week or two. She's been napping every time I've been at your place."

"That about sums it up," Arizona nodded. "She sleeps most of the day. Emily couldn't even get her to wake up for lunch yesterday."

Arizona had just returned to work a few days ago, meaning that Faith was left at home with Emily once again. They had been checking in a lot just because they were so worried about something happening to their girl before she could get her new heart, but everything had been okay so far.

"And there's the loss of appetite."

"Again?" he asked. "I thought you got that solved. With a lot of applesauce, but..."

"So did we," Callie said. "But now the new medication is causing the same symptom. We have an appointment with Brady in three days."

"I don't know how much more of this we can take," Arizona said. "I know we don't have a choice. Neither does Faith, but it's getting bad. We want our kid back."

"Hopefully she's feeling okay for Sofia's party tomorrow," Mark replied.

"Hopefully," Callie agreed. "And hopefully her appointment with Brady goes better than I think it will."

"What do you think -?"

"She's convinced herself that we'll have to admit her until she gets a heart so that she can be monitored closely and receive all of her nutrients through a feeding tube. Will you tell her that there are steps between where Faith is now and that?"

"There are," he said.

"I know, but just..."

"He can adjust her meds. again. Maybe that'll bring back the appetite some more. If not, she can have a feeding tube and be at home. The energy might not come back up, but we're not admitting her until it's the last option we have," Arizona said.

"What are we talking about?" Lexie asked, walking up.

"Faith."

"You might have to admit her?"

"Calliope's thinking worst case scenario. The heart's actually doing okay. She's not having chest pains or –"

"It's also draining her of her energy and she's on meds. that are making her not want to eat. She's losing weight again," Callie replied.

"You need sleep," she told her, giving her a kiss. "I know you were up all night talking to Teddy about all of this. She told me."

"Like you haven't done the same?"

"I have," she admitted. "But we take turns. When I'm falling apart, you can't be. And vise versa. We have two kids who are counting on us to be able to function."

"Yeah."

She gave her a second kiss. "Go get some rest. I'll call Brady and see if he can squeeze her in today. Does that help?"

"A heart," she said. "A heart would help."

"Then I'll make him call UNOS."

"Which won't change anything."

"It's the most I can do."

"I love you," Callie told her before she took her advice and went to find an empty on-call room to rest in.

"Are you sure you don't want us to host Sof's party?" Lexie asked. "I know we did it last year and we try to switch off, but –"

"Sofia asked to have it at our house this time," Arizona replied. "With the way Faith's been lately, we've had to tell her no a lot. I'm not going back on this. If Faith sleeps through it, she sleeps through it. We make it work."

"And when are you going to stop acting like you're okay?" Mark asked.

"I didn't know Callie was up all night because Teddy told me," she said. "I knew Callie was up all night because I was too. I was pretending to be asleep, but every time I dozed off I had this dream that...that..."

"That Faith didn't get a heart in time," Mark guessed. "It's a dream."

"When I was pregnant, I dreamt that something was wrong with her. And she has H.L.H.S."

"Not because you dreamt it," Lexie said. "It didn't come true because you had a dream. "

"I know, but –"

"Faith's not going anywhere," Mark said. "She's just not. Like you said, there are so many steps between –"

"Calliope better pull it together soon," she told them, as tears formed in her eyes. "I can't hold it together much longer."

"You don't have to," Lexie said. "Callie knows you're scared too. It's okay for her to see it."

"But one of us has to be strong for the gir-"

"You're a great mom," Lexie said. "Don't start thinking anything less. You can't give Faith a heart, but you've been doing everything but."

"Sometimes I envy parents with healthy kids," she said. "I know that's bad, but sometimes I just do."

"I think it's normal."

* * *

The next morning, the ladies were forced to put on their brave faces again. Sofia was going to be "waking them up" any second now. They could hear her down the hall attempting to make her own bed.

"Brady said we can come in tomorrow at ten," Arizona replied as they lay in bed. "He had something emergent come up last night so he couldn't squeeze Faith in, but he did move her appointment up. One more day and hopefully we get some more help."

"Good."

"I bought some of that Pediasure stuff," she said. "I know it's not ideal, but if we can get her to drink that at least we know she's getting something. Yesterday all she ate two bites of a ham sandwich and then an orange. Anything helps."

"Yeah."

They could hear Sofia getting closer, so they stopped talking and resumed their fake sleep. She crept into the room and got up onto the bed. "It's my birthday!" she said, beginning to jump. "I'm seven now!"

"Happy birthday," Callie smiled.

"Thank you!" she replied, sitting down now. "What time is my party again?"

"Noon," Arizona answered. "Are you excited?"

"I told Daddy I want a puppy at his house," she said. "I hope I get a new puppy."

They already knew that this wasn't going to happen. Instead, Mark and Lexie had gotten Sofia her second most requested item: a pink bike. She had outgrown her last one and she had been begging for a new one lately.

"Well, what else do you really want?" Arizona asked.

"A pink bike," she told them. "I hope I get that, too."

"We'll see," she smiled.

"And I hope Faith feels good today."

"So do we," Callie agreed.

"These heart people take too long."

They had definitely realized that Sofia was much too young to handle this wait. They regretted telling her that her sister needed a new heart, even though they believed in being honest with her. This was just too difficult for her. She would ask when her sister's heart was coming very, very often. When they never had an answer for her, the defeat in her eyes was hard to see. Faith's new heart wouldn't only fix Faith. It was going to restore hope for the whole family.

"It's hard to be patient, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Should we go wake Sister up and get breakfast?"

"Faith probably isn't hungry."

"We'll see."

* * *

They managed to get Faith to eat a few bites of apple and a bite or two of toast without too much difficulty. It wasn't much, but every bite counted these days, it seemed.

"Is that good?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Want more?" Callie wondered.

"Yep."

"Yep, what?" Arizona asked.

"She wants more food," Callie replied. "Right now, I don't care how she tells us that."

"H.L.H.S. or not, she will be polite and respectful."

Sometimes she sounded like a broken record, but this was important to Arizona. Faith's medical needs were clearly of upmost importance, but they were raising a child, not a diagnosis. Letting Faith get away with everything wouldn't do any good in the long run. It was tempting to take care of her medical needs, love her, and let that be enough. After all, she had had a tough little life so far. Yet, Arizona knew that wasn't best. She could learn manners and other basic toddler-friendly rules and, as far as she was concerned, she was going to.

Her wife was right, Callie realized.

"Faith Evelyn, what do we say?"

"Faith wub Maday," she smiled.

"I love you, too," she said, giving her a kiss. "And I'm happy to see that smile. But we say please."

"Pease."

"Good job," she said. "Do you want a chocolate milkshake, too?"

They knew that giving the Pediasure they were now trying without calling it something appealing wouldn't work. For one, she didn't have much of an appetite. Plus, she was a two-year-old. Two-year-olds weren't known to be the most compliant group.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Pease."

"So polite!" Arizona smiled. "Good girl."

"How come she gets a milkshake, but I don't?" Sofia protested. "Madre, it's _my _birthday. Can I have one, too? Please?"

"It's not really a milkshake," Arizona whispered in her ear. "It's a drink she has to have and we have to make it seem fun. Can you pretend with us, please?"

"Fine," she said. "But can I have a milkshake? I want one."

"I'm sure Daddy'll call to say happy birthday before they come over," Arizona said. "You can ask him to pick you up one."

"And he can't say no because it's my birthday."

"Daddy has a tough time saying no to you just 'cause you're Sofia," Callie pointed out, even though she probably shouldn't have.

"I know," she smiled.

Callie gave Faith more fruit and her "milkshake."

"What do you think, Faith?" Arizona asked as she took a little taste.

"No," Faith refused.

Even with the chocolate flavouring, it wasn't exactly appealing.

"It's good, Faith," Sofia said. "Drink it all up."

* * *

"One milkshake for the birthday girl," Lexie said, handing it over when they arrived later on.

"Happy birthday," Mark added.

"Thank you," Sofia smiled. "Max got one too?" she noticed.

"Yep," Maxwell nodded. "Strawberries."

"We got one for Faith, too. I'm not sure that she'll drink it or even that she's allowed, but it felt unfair to let the other kids have one and not her," Mark said.

"Faith's sort of used to 'unfair,'" Arizona said. "Sadly. And she's just waking up from a nap. My mom's getting her up. So we'll see if she wants it. It's probably not exactly following the diet, but at this point we'll settle and give her whatever she'll just eat."

"You can't do that too much, though. Right?" Daniel asked.

"We don't," Callie said. "It's okay."

"Lexie, do you like my nail polish?" Sofia asked, showing her step-mom her painted fingers.

"I do," she smiled. "Very pretty."

"Abuelo buyed it for me yesterday at the store. 'Cause I wanted it."

"Are you a little spoiled lately?" Mark asked.

"'Cause I'm the birthday girl," she nodded.

Arizona's phone began ringing. She had a patient who had taken a turn for the worse two days ago, so she wasn't too surprised to see that it was the hospital calling.

"Dr. Robbins speaking," she answered as she walked into the other room for some privacy.

It was Alex.

"Listen, I know it's Sofia's birthday, but –"

"Can you please, please, please handle whatever it is?" she asked. "You're good. I know you are because I taught you. I know I'll owe you one, but if you could –"

"Will you shut up?"

"Excuse me?"

"There's a heart here and UNOS has directed it to your kid," Alex said. "We still have to run some tests on the donor and on Faith and cross-match them just to be sure they're a match, but it's the same blood type, similar age and size –"

"Did you say -?"

"Robbins, get here," Alex replied. "Right now."

"There's actually a heart?" she asked.

"Yes."

"We'll be right there," she promised, hanging up before even finishing the call.

They were just about to offer Faith the milkshake when she came back into the living room.

"They have a heart," she announced, tearing up now. "It's already at the hospital. We have to go."

"They have a _heart_?!" Callie practically shouted back.

It seemed hard to believe. After all of that hoping, worrying, and praying, things had suddenly – very suddenly – began to look up. Just like that, out of the blue, Faith was going to get her transplant.

"Alex just called," she told her wife, now shaking as she spoke.

"Good," Sofia said.

Then she realized what that meant. Everyone watched as her face fell. They knew she was happy for her sister, but they would have to skip her birthday party.

"Sofia, we'll make it up to you," Arizona promised. "As soon as Faith's better we'll have the best party you've ever been to."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

"Like...with fireworks and dancing?" she asked.

How their seven-year-old had just come up with this idea was beyond them. However, even fireworks and dancing couldn't match the celebration that would be needed if this was all a success.

"Sure," Callie said, even though she wasn't sure Faith would appreciate the loud noise of fireworks much. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

"Alright."

"Give Sister a kiss," Arizona told her.

"Faith, you get a new heart for my birthday!" Sofia told her little sister as she gave her a kiss.

"Huh?" Faith asked.

"That bad heart is going bye bye," Arizona tried to explain. "Dr. Brady's going to put a new one in there for you today."

"Oh."

"You ready?" Callie asked. "We're already all packed up. We've been waiting for this."

"Yeah?"

"Remember we told you that?" Arizona asked.

"Do you want us to come?" Grandma wondered.

"Not now," Callie said. "Spend the day with Sof. Come later."

"Okay."

"Are you going to be super brave?" Arizona asked, picking Faith up.

"Yeah," Faith nodded.

"Sounds good," Mark smiled.

"Faith's leavin'?" Max asked.

"Yep," Lexie said. "She gets a new heart."

"Why?"

"Because she needs one."

"Why?"

"Because hers doesn't work."

"Why?"

"Because it's not the same as most hearts," Mark explained.

"Why?"

Sofia laughed. "You ask too many questions, Max!"


	30. No More Broken Heart

**I am blown away by how quickly the excitement over Chapter 29 came flooding in. Thanks! **

* * *

"Pity hat, Mama," Faith told Arizona in reference to her scrub cap.

On the drive over, Faith had asked if her parents could go with her to get her new heart. They were trying to prepare her for what would happen and this request came up. They didn't know the answer right then and there so they changed the subject until they were able to check with her surgeons. Dr. Brady agreed that Callie and Arizona could come into the operating room and stay until she was under anesthesia. He wouldn't have done this for most parents, but these two worked at the hospital, so it was okay.

"You like it?" she asked. "Thanks. Do you like Madre's, too?"

"Yeah."

"These are our hats for when we work," she explained. "We're not working today, though. We're just bringing you to get a new heart."

"Faith hat?" she asked. "Pease?"

"You can try ours on later," Madre said. "How's that?"

"Yeah."

Dr. Brady came in. Faith had already had all of her pre-op blood work and everything, so he was coming to give them the official word about whether or not they could proceed with the transplant. They knew that with all of the information UNOS used to make their matches there was a very slim chance that they would be turning back at this point, but they still wanted to her those perfect words.

"It's a go," he smiled. "It's a really good match, actually."

"Good," Callie said.

"It's a good day, huh Faith?" he smiled. "Though, you have to have surgery. You're probably not happy."

"According to her, she doesn't like Alex today," Arizona said.

"No," she said.

"Because he did your blood work?"

"Yeah."

"You'll appreciate it later when you have your fancy new heart and you're doing better," Mommy promised, giving her a kiss.

"No."

"You won't?" the doctor laughed. "Okay."

"It's still a good day," Callie said. "It happens to be Sofia's birthday which wasn't ideal, but you won't hear us complain."

"Any questions?" he asked.

Arizona had one, but she wasn't sure she should ask. She wanted to know who Faith's donor was. She tried not to focus on that aspect of transplantation – even with her patients – but she just felt like she should know the name of the child to whom they owed Faith's second chance. She doubted Dr. Brady would tell her, though. Therefore, she decided not to even ask.

"You're prepared to transfuse her, right? The blood thinners –" Callie asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "We are. If we have to, we have enough blood on stand-by to replace her entire blood volume."

"I know that's supposed to put us at ease, but it really doesn't. That's a lot of blood you're expecting my kid to lose."

"We hope we don't have to use that much," he clarified. "But we're ready."

"Good."

"You're prepared for her to be on anti-rejection meds. for the rest of her life, right? Rejection is most common right after transplant, but it can happen at any time, so that's crucial."

"We know," Arizona said.

"I know you do, but I still ask," he told her. "And I'm not trying to scare you."

"No," Arizona agreed. "But right now, this feels like the end of all of this and really, it's not. It's a huge step, but it doesn't mean she'll be perfectly healthy and never have a problem again. She could. And we'll still have to see you far more than I'll ever enjoy. No offence."

"None taken," he smiled. "But you're right. If this works, she'll do okay, but she wasn't born with this new heart. We'll have to keep an eye on it."

"Until you're one hundred and two, right Faith?" Callie asked, giving her a kiss.

"Whoa," the toddler answered.

"Do you want to live for one hundred more years?" Arizona asked. "With your special new heart? What do you think?"

"Lots, Mama."

"That is a lot," Arizona nodded. "We like to take things day by day at our house, right?"

She nodded.

"Sounds good," Dr. Brady smiled. "Are you ready?"

"You're ready now?" Arizona asked, suddenly not feeling prepared to walk into that O.R. and put their child on the table.

"Yeah," he said.

"Hey," Callie told her wife. "This should be the last time. If things go as planned, this will be the last surgery she has to have. We can do this one more time. This one's a good one."

"Yeah," she smiled. "You're right."

Callie picked her up just as Teddy came into the room. She would be the one harvesting Faith's new heart, so she wouldn't be in the room with her this time. However, she did want to wish her luck before her surgery began.

"Auntie Teddy's going to get your new heart ready for you," Arizona told her. "Tell her thank you!"

"Just doing my job," Teddy smiled, giving her niece a kiss. "See you when you wake up, okay?"

"Yeah," Faith nodded.

"You ready to get rid of that broken heart now?" Callie asked. "Say 'no more broken heart for Faith!'"

"Bye bye hypoplastic left heart syndrome!" Arizona added.

"Let's go big brave girl," Callie said. "Are you ready?"

"Bankie!" she cried.

"You need to bring your blanket in?" Arizona asked, picking it up.

Faith didn't realize that the nurses would take it from her and return it in the recovery room, but that was okay. If it comforted her that was all that mattered.

"Yep."

"Okay, we will."

They carried her down to the operating room doors where they had to hand her off to a nurse so that they could get scrubbed in. They obviously wouldn't be operating, but they didn't want to risk compromising the sterile field.

"Maday!" Faith cried out, with an ear-piercing scream.

"We'll see you in just a minute," Arizona promised. "We'll meet you there."

She continued screaming as they scrubbed in. They could see her fighting with the nurses who were trying to settle her down.

"And this would be why most parents don't get to see this," Callie said, putting on her mask.

"Yes," Dr. Brady nodded. "But she'll be fine once she sees you and after you leave she'll be under. She's in good hands."

"We know," Arizona said as they walked into the O.R.

"Hey, Faith," Callie smiled under the mask. "See? We're back!"

"Are you ready to take a sleep for Dr. Brady?" Arizona asked, as Faith stopped crying.

"We'll be there when you wake up with your new heart," Callie said. "Okay?"

The anesthesiologist placed the mask over Faith's little face. Knowing that many children – or even any patients in general – tended to resist this part, Arizona tried to distract Faith.

"Can you sing the ABC song with me?"

"A, B, C..." she started, then looked over at Madre.

"D, E...what's next?"

"F Faith."

"F for Faith," Arizona said as the little one's baby blue's started to close. "We love you, Faith Evelyn," she said.

"Have a good sleep," her wife added.

"G," Faith replied, getting in one last letter before she gave in to the medication.

"We'll have her back to you soon," Alex said. "I know we can't promise things, but we just will."

"Don't promise us and jinx it," Arizona replied.

"You believe in that?"

"I don't take chances with my kid," she told him.

"It's going to take a little longer this time. We have to get the old heart out and the new one in and there's a lot of scar tissue. We're going to take some time. Don't panic. That's probably not possible, but..." Dr. Brady said.

"Yeah," Callie nodded. "It's not. But thanks."

* * *

The grandparents joined them to wait two hours later. There wasn't much that they could do, but the party hadn't gone over well without Callie, Arizona, and Faith in attendance. Mark asked her and Sofia had opted to just have a fun day out instead, cutting the party short. At this point, the Robbins' and Mr. Torres decided to come to the hospital and support their daughters and granddaughter.

There was no news for three more hours still. They tried to keep reminding themselves that no news was good news. They were taking their time and doing what was best for Faith. Yet, that didn't help one bit. They couldn't get every horrible scenario out of their heads.

Callie and Arizona both received a text at the same time. Callie checked it to see that it was from Mark. He wanted to know how everything was going. They updated him and asked how Sofia was handling a birthday that they weren't there for. They knew that this was where they needed to be, but it didn't mean they didn't want to be with Sofia as well.

About a minute later, Mark sent back a picture of the four of them gathered around a Border Collie puppy with the message "Meet the newest member of the Grey/Sloan family. So much for not wanting to have to train a new puppy. She was crying on her birthday. Lexie decided that maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all. We ended up here."

"He caved," Arizona smiled.

"Of course he did," Callie said. "She was upset on her birthday. Mark caves when she's upset on any given Tuesday."

"When we want to cheer her up, we get ice cream. Not a dog."

"Oh, they needed one anyways. We all knew they were going to end up with one at some point. Mark was just trying to stand his ground and show Sofia that he won't say yes right away every time."

"So much for that."

"We owe her the biggest party ever," Callie said.

"She got through more of today's than I was expecting," Carlos said. "It wasn't until after the cake that she finally told Mark she didn't want a party anymore."

"Did she open her presents?"

"No," Grandpa said. "She wanted you to see what she got."

"I feel so bad," Arizona said.

"Don't," her mom replied. "She'll be okay and she is happy for her sister."

"I know."

Today may not have been an ideal day, but because of today they would hopefully be able to have many, many more happy days as a family. They would get to celebrate many more birthdays now, including Faith's. Today was worth everything they had been through.

Dr. Brady finally came out forty minutes later. He reported that the new heart was beating inside of Faith's chest, most importantly. She had needed a transfusion, but they had managed to control the bleeding. Now they would monitor her closely as she recovered. Hopefully her body wouldn't reject this new heart and everything would go as planned.

"We get to make happy plans now," Arizona realized. "Not just plans about how to get her to the next procedure and then the next after that."

Callie gave her a kiss. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"She still isn't awake yet, but you can see her," he told them.

"Finally," Callie commented. "I can't get there fast enough."

"Wait," Arizona said. "I need something first."

* * *

Arizona held her stethoscope to Faith's chest. Faith still hadn't even opened her eyes, but that was fine. This was all that she needed. She couldn't hear too clearly at all through the gauze over Faith's incision, but the sound of a normal heart beating inside of Faith's chest sounded beautiful nonetheless.

"I think that's the best sound I've ever heard," she said softly. "There are many of those, but today, this is my favourite sound ever."

Callie smiled. "Stop it, though. She's going to wake up and you're pressing on her incision."

"Oh, so you don't want to hear our kid's perfect new heart?" she asked. "One hundred percent H.L.H.S. free?"

"Give me that," she told her wife.

"That's what I thought," she said, handing the stethoscope over.

Callie got in a quick listen just before Faith woke up. They hadn't been able to extubate her in the O.R. and she was still very sedated, but she immediately locked eyes with her mom.

"You have a new heart, Faith!" Arizona said, crying happy tears. "You're going to feel so much better once you recover. We're all done with the surgeries, we hope. We still have to see Dr. Brady more than you like to, but you're going to be able to do so much more now. You'll feel like a whole new lady!"

Callie kissed her. "I think you have the prettiest new heartbeat," she told her.

"Uh huh," Mommy agreed.

Faith closed her eyes again. As much as they wanted to have her be instantly recovered so that they could take her home and live a hypoplastic left heart syndrome free life for the first time since Arizona was sixteen weeks pregnant, they knew that there next few days, probably even weeks, would look more like this.

"Do you need more rest?" Abuelo asked. "Okay. We'll be here when you wake back up."

"Maybe Sister can even come tonight," Arizona said.

They usually kept Sofia away for at least the first day after surgery, but she had seen Faith had her worst before. It was her birthday and they would leave that choice up to her. If she wanted to come, she was going to be allowed.

"We'll see how you feel," Callie said. "But I think Sister might just want to hold your hand and tell you about her new dog."

"Sofia got a new puppy at Mark and Lexie's," Arizona explained. "Do you think the new puppy will be Hershey's friend?"

"It's hard to believe she's better off now when she looks worse," Arizona's mom commented.

"She'll come around," Callie said. "This is all normal."

"Good," Daniel replied.

"It just takes time," Arizona explained. "And we want to make sure she doesn't reject the heart."

"We want to keep that heart for a long time, don't we Faith?" Callie asked.

"Apparently one hundred more years," Mommy added.

"Yeah."

* * *

To no one's surprise, Sofia did decide to come that night. She understood that Faith wasn't going to be able to play or anything, but she just wanted to be with her. She brought some of her gifts to open as well.

"Faith, you got me some very beautiful shoes," she said, pulling them out of the box. "They sparkle and everything!"

"You couldn't be any more your mother's daughter, could you?" Callie laughed.

"We just like pretty things," Arizona said. "It's not our fault that you don't. Right, girls?"

"Thank you for my new shoes, Faith," Sofia said, giving her sleeping sister a kiss. "Maybe I'll wear them to our best party ever."

"Faith picked those out all by herself," Arizona said. "I took her to the store and asked her what Sofia would like and she said 'shoes.'" Then she decided on those ones."

"They're perfect," she said. "I'll have to make sure my new puppy can't eat them. Lexie said her puppy when she was little ate shoes."

"When does your new puppy come home?" Grandma asked.

"Daddy said next week because they have to make sure we're a nice family," she said. "But we are. We even got two families a little bit."

"Yep," Arizona said. "Do you know what her name is?"

"Daddy said we get to pick one but him and Lexie get to say what it is for sure," she said. "Because Max wanted to name her SpongeBob. But it's a puppy! A _girl_ puppy!"

"What do you want to name it?" Callie asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "I never had to know a puppy name before. Hershey was already Hershey."

"Right."

"I told her she has to live at Daddy's while Faith gets better again," she told them.

"How did she feel about that?" Arizona wondered.

She knew that Sofia's answer to this would obviously really reflect how _she _felt.

"She's happy, but she wants Faith home soon, too."

"Me too," Arizona said. "I know your party got ruined, but was it still a happy birthday?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Callie nodded.


	31. Broken Babies

"You really don't have to stay until she's discharged, Daddy," Callie told her father.

Faith was now two days post-op. Given the fact that she was so young and her little body had already been through so much, Dr. Brady wanted her to spend at least two weeks in the hospital just to be monitored very closely. After that, he would decide if she was ready to go home or not.

Arizona was back at the house with her parents collecting a few extra items that might come in handy. They had had the bare essentials packed up in order to get to the hospital quickly once they received the call, but they were finding that some other things would be great as well. Meanwhile, Callie was trying to convince her father that they would be fine if the grandparents went home. They appreciated the support, but they had done this before and they didn't want to interrupt their lives, too.

"I want to," he replied, smiling at the tiny blonde, who was fast asleep in his own "little girl's" arms.

"What about Mom? Doesn't she want you home? I'm grateful, but –"

"I told your mother a long time ago that I was still going to be a part of your life and Sofia's. And now Faith's, too."

"Does she even ask about us?" Callie asked.

She had always wondered this. As a mom she knew that she would always want to know what was going on in her children's lives. It would be impossible for her to stop wanting to know what was happening with them or what was important to them. Still, she could never decide not to be a part of her girls' lives either; her mother had done that, so maybe they were just entirely different people after all.

"She asks about you and Sofia," he said.

Ouch, Callie thought. The obvious absence of Faith's name – and even Arizona's– hurt. It may have even hurt worse than just a "no" would have.

"But not her," Callie said. "Because Arizona carried her."

"You know she's just as much yours," he said. "What anybody else thinks doesn't matter."

It had taken him some time to adjust to the fact that his daughter had a wife – not a husband - that she had had a child with a man who she wasn't in a relationship with, and yes, even that Faith wouldn't be his biological grandchild. However, he could honestly say that none of that mattered now. They were a family regardless of how all the details worked themselves out.

"I know."

"I shouldn't even have told you –"

"It's okay," she said. "But my point before that came up is that it's okay if you decide to go home."

"Home?" Faith asked, waking up.

Of course, she woke up just in time to hear those words. She had already asked to go home three times today – this time being number four – and it was only noon. They hated having to tell her that she had to stay when she despised being in the hospital so much. They were running out of ways to gently let her down each time.

"Not today," she said. "Dr. Brady says you're not ready yet."

She gave her daughter a kiss and sat her up a little so that she could see her abuelo.

"But look who's here," she smiled.

"Hi, Lolo."

"Hi, Faith," he replied. "How are you feeling now?"

"Bad."

"Last night wasn't your best of nights, was it?" she asked.

Faith had developed a fever overnight which had caused a little panic. Fever was one of the possible signs of rejection, so they were keeping a close eye on it. Faith, who was already highly uncomfortable, couldn't stand having nurses and doctors in and out of her room all night long.

"Hopefully that fever goes away soon," Abuelo said.

"It hasn't risen anymore and they did get it to go down a little, so that's a good sign. She doesn't really have any other signs of rejection. She's gotten fevers post-op before and they've gone right back down, so it doesn't mean..."

"I know."

"Right, Faith?" Callie asked. "We want to keep that new heart you have?"

"Yep, Maday," she nodded.

"Say 'nooooo rejection!'"

"Noooo!" she repeated.

Lexie walked in. She was in the middle of rounds, but she wanted to stop and see how Faith was doing.

"Nooo what?" she asked with a smile.

"Rejection," Callie said. "We want Faith's new heart to be the perfect one for her."

"Yep!" Lexie agreed. "Faith, all I heard from your sister all morning was 'when can I go see Faith?' 'Tell Daddy I need to visit Faith.' 'How's Faith today?'"

"Well, no visits right now," Callie said.

Just in case Faith's fever was due to sickness, they didn't want to risk a visit with Sofia making it worse. Sofia wasn't sick right now, but she was still exposed to many different things at school. It was just too risky. Once Faith's fever was officially gone, Sofia would be more than welcome, but not right now.

"Why?"

"She developed a fever last night," Callie said. "She doesn't have any other signs of rejection, so it might not be a big deal, but the last thing she needs is the germs of a seven-year-old."

"Okay," Lexie said. "I'll try to let Sofia down easy."

"Thank you," Callie replied.

"Anytime," she smiled. "I hope you get rid of that fever soon, Faith."

"So do we, huh Faith?" Callie asked, giving her daughter a kiss.

"Mama?"

"Mama's getting us some extra stuff. She'll be back soon."

"Soon, soon, soon?"

"Yes Ma'am," she nodded.

Just as Lexie left, a nurse came to take Faith's temperature. Once again, it wasn't quite gone, but it was lower. This was a good sign, but they still wanted it to go away as soon as possible so that they could be absolutely sure it wasn't a sign of rejection.

Dr. Brady came in just a few minutes later with Faith's chart in his hands. He was concerned about this most recent symptom as well.

"You have a fever, Faith?" he asked. "We're going to give you more of that medicine that helps your heart want to stay."

"An even higher dose of the anti-rejection meds.?" Callie asked. "She's already on a high dose."

"We don't know for sure what's causing this fever and I don't want to take chances. The body's natural reaction is to reject the heart because it doesn't belong, so we need to combat that. If we wait much longer, it might be too late. If the fever resolves because it's not related to rejection, great. But if not, we need to get aggressive."

"How will we know the difference, though?" Abuelo asked. "Or would you just keep her on the high dose forever?"

"If no other signs of rejection start to show, we slowly lower the dosage back down to what it's at now."

"Which is still high," Callie said.

"Yes," he agreed. "But if it's lowered and the fever doesn't return, we've been successful. If it does, we up the dosage again."

"You make Dr. Brady work hard, huh?" Callie asked her little girl.

"Yep," Faith said softly.

"I don't mind," he smiled. "It's nice to see you out of bed and sitting on Madre's lap, though."

"We slept like this," Callie said. "It usually helps. I think it's just because she can feel us right there."

"Probably."

"Her colouring's a little better though, right?" Callie asked.

Faith had never had the best colouring because her circulation had always been less than ideal. It had improved since birth, but it had never been great. Now her mommy's were anxious – maybe a little too much so – to see some rosy cheeks on their girl. It was simple things like that that they had learned not to take for granted.

"Maybe a little," Dr. Brady said, even though both he and Callie knew he was being overly agreeable. "Give it time," he added. "She's two days post-op. She's still not feeling so great."

Arizona and her parents returned just as Dr. Brady said this. Mommy was curious to know what he had said about Faith's fever.

"What's the plan?" she asked. "Increasing the dosage of the anti-rejection meds.?"

"Exactly," he nodded.

Along with the other things they brought from home, Grandma had the familiar little cooler that Faith had come to learn usually contained her healthier homemade fruit pops.

"Mine?" she asked. "Pease?"

They had been trying to get her to start taking at least some liquids by mouth and she had had no interest. They just figured she still wasn't feeling well and didn't push the issue. However, like any other two-year-old, she wasn't going to say no to a treat.

"You know what's in there, huh?" Arizona laughed. "Do you want to try one? Grandma made these ones just for you."

"You know you can just give her a Popsicle, right?" Dr. Brady asked. "The diet doesn't mean she can't cheat sometimes. Especially now. I just want to know if she can keep anything down at this point. A normal Popsicle every now and then isn't a big deal. It's not like she's hooked on fried chicken or something."

"We don't take any chances, do we?" Arizona asked Faith as she took a fruit pop out of the freezer and gave it to her. "Especially not _right _after she got a new heart."

"Let me know how that works out once you get back to work," he smiled, knowing that busy surgeons rarely had time to make everything from scratch.

"Ah, normal life," Callie smiled. "I can't wait."

"Yeah," Faith nodded as she bit into the fruit pop.

"You agree?" Grandpa asked.

Faith realized that the big frozen chunk in her mouth was much too cold for her liking. She spit it out in Madre's hand.

"Oh, thanks!" she laughed.

"You enjoy that Popsicle," Dr. Brady said.

* * *

The next two mornings weren't quite as good. Faith's fever was gone but the burst of energy that had her sitting up, talking, and enjoying her company had seemed to leave with it. Now they were luckily if they could get a simple head nod in response to anything that they said.

Teddy was doing an echo on post-op day four and Faith seemed especially displeased with this. She kept trying to move Teddy away, so they needed to do something with her hands, but they didn't want to hold her down and make the process even scarier if they could avoid it.

"Want to hold Abuelo's hand?" Arizona asked, figuring that the special bond she had with Callie's dad may help.

Carlos began rubbing the little girl's arm and talking to her about how brave she was being. The other hand had a firm grasp on her favourite blanket. Everyone knew that Faith wasn't going to tolerate this for very much longer, so Teddy was trying to hurry as much as she could.

"Is it weird that I think that that should be our Christmas card this year?" Callie asked, admiring the image of Faith's heart. "It's only April and I realize it's an organ, but it's awesome."

Arizona smiled. "I think our non-surgeon friends might get a bit freaked out, though. An adorable picture of our perfect babies might go over a little better."

"Speaking of the other one of those perfect babies..." Mark said from the doorway. "When you're done there, can we talk?"

"What happened?" Callie asked, knowing that something was wrong just by the look on his face.

"Her left arm may not be so perfect anymore," he replied. "They were rehearsing for that Parents' Night concert thing and she saw one of the bigger kids hop down off of the stage. Before a teacher could notice, our little daredevil gave it a try."

"Ouch," Arizona said.

"She's getting x-rays right now," he said. "Lexie's with her. She insisted that I come get Callie."

"Go," Teddy replied. "We can finish this later. I hate having to do it to her twice, but go."

"Both of you," Mrs. Robbins said. "Faith'll be fine with us. She got herself so worked up that she'll probably just fall asleep soon anyways."

"Are you sure?" Arizona asked.

"Yes," Daniel nodded. "Absolutely."

They gave Faith kisses and promised to get back to her as soon as possible. Honestly, she wasn't even that upset that Madre and Mommy were leaving. Auntie Teddy had stopped bothering her and that was all she wanted. Plus, her grandma was right. She was exhausted.

* * *

"What is with our kids?" Arizona asked as they got on the elevator with Mark. "Nothing's ever going to be simple, is it?"

"Faith's got her new heart and we think she'll be fine," Callie said. "And broken bones heal. Especially when little girls have madres like me."

"You're not setting her bones yourself," Arizona replied. "Remember that rule we have about Faith now? That it's our job to do the comforting, but –"

"Torres is the best Ortho here and we all know it," Mark said. "Do you want somebody else to screw it up?"

"She can't even –"

"She can if nobody knows about it," he smirked. "They've already started treating her pain. If the break is where Lex and I think it is, it might not even be so bad for Callie to fix."

"How hysterical is she?" Callie asked.

"She's a seven-year-old girl who fell off a stage and landed on her arm," Arizona said. "Show me one of those that's _not_ hysterical."

"True."

"Now we've got two broken babies," Arizona said.

"Technically Faith's just recovering," Callie said. "She's got her heart. But yeah. She's not exactly herself and that's been really, really rough this time around."

"They'll both be okay," Mark said. "And they'll get to see each other. That'll help both of them."

"True."

* * *

As Mark and Lexie predicted, Sofia had gotten relatively lucky. Her arm was broken, but the break wasn't too severe. Sofia was brave and the worst of it was over quickly. It helped that the cast that she would have on for the next six weeks was purple. She was very insistant that it had to be a 'good' colour.

"Libby might try to jump on my arm and hurt it," Sofia told her dad, speaking of their rambunctious new puppy. "Hershey listens, but Libby doesn't follow the rules."

"We'll work on it," Mark said. "You have to be careful not to get Libby so excited sometimes though."

"Because she loves me, then she gets excited to see me."

"Right," Lexie nodded.

"And next time you practice for your Parents' Night thing...?" Arizona mentioned.

"I'll walk down the stairs like I'm supposed to."

"Thank you."

"It was fun," she said. "'Til I fell."

"I bet," Callie replied, still applying the cast.

"Now it really hurts."

"We'll keep giving you medicine," Mark told her.

"Do I have to stay home from school 'til my arm is better?"

"No," Callie answered. "We'll let you take a day or two off and spend some time with Faith, but after that you can go to school."

"Okay."

"Faith's sleepy today," Arizona said. "Maybe you can read her stories or something."

"I'll tell her about Libby. She hasn't met her yet."

"Nope."

"Sof, you're so brave," Callie said.

Surely she was biased, but she was impressed by how well Sofia had taken this injury. Sure, she had been hysterical at one point, but she had also calmed down faster than many other children that she had treated.

"I know," she said. "Too bad I can't have a sparkly cast."

"We can draw on it," Lexie suggested. "We can give it designs and stuff."

"Okay," she agreed. "But only if it doesn't hurt."

"You won't feel it through the cast," Mark explained.

* * *

Faith spent the rest of the day in and out of sleep. Teddy managed to finish her echo and everything looked great, but she just didn't have much energy. Instead of doing something to pass the time, the two sore sisters just laid in Faith's hospital bed having a little chat. Sofia did all of the talking, but Faith felt obligated to nod every few minutes, which was enough to keep her sister happy with the arrangement.

Arizona was drawing girly designs like hearts, stars and swirls onto the cast while Sofia lay there. Most kids would have wanted to have all of their friends cover their casts with their little signatures, but Sofia wanted this instead. For these few minutes, her mom was doing something with her. They both needed that.

"Faith, do you like my cast?"

Another nod.

"I'll leave Faith a little spot to write something," Arizona said. "Max, too."

"Faith doesn't know how to write any words and Max just knows 'Max' and he still messes up a lot."

"They can do whatever they want then," Callie replied. "It's from them."

"Yeah," she said. "Faith what do you want to put on my cast?"

"She'll probably just put a bunch of lines and dots," Grandma said. "We were colouring the other day and those seemed to be her favourites."

"We gotta teach her 'Faith'"

"One day she'll learn," Grandpa said. "But she's just too little right now."

"But she's getting bigger."

"She is."

"And soon she'll be all better."

"Yep," Arizona smiled. "She'll still have doctor's appointments and stuff, but her new heart should help."

"I wonder what will be better first?" Sofia asked. "My arm or Faith's new heart?"

"I think your arm," Arizona said, giving her a kiss. "That's a pretty safe bet."

"Oh."

"You almost ready for Dad to take you home?" Callie asked.

"No," she said. "I want to sleep over."

They knew this wasn't allowed, but it was oh so tempting. Maybe, just maybe, they could talk somebody into agreeing to let Sofia stay. They would keep her out of the nurses' way and everything. Callie was trying to decide if it could really happen when her wife answered.

"Okay," she said. "Faith's fever's all gone, so why not?"

"Because it's the Pediatric I.C.U.," Callie said.

"Minor details," Arizona smiled.

"We get a sleepover, Faith," Sofia said.

"You can't sleep in Sister's bed, though," Callie warned.

"Fine."

"We'll cuddle," Arizona offered.

"You realize having her on your lap all night will be vastly different then having Fai-"

"It's okay," she smiled.

"Is this really a good idea?" she asked.

She was worried what would happen if another complication popped up for Faith. Then again, Sofia had seen much worse before. It was all about how well they explained everything.

"It's the best idea," Sofia answered.

Callie couldn't completely disagree.

"Okay," she smiled.


	32. The Last Day

**So much has happened in these last few chapters that I thought I'd just write a bit more of a simple, laid back (yet still exciting in it's own way) chapter today. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks yet again for all the lovely reviews. They make my day. :)**

* * *

Arizona held Faith's little hand as they stepped onto the elevator four and a half weeks later. The little girl was still admitted due to a few persistent post-op complications, such as her fever returning and an allergic reaction to a new medication among other problems. Most transplant patients went home soon after their transplants, so it was frustrating that Faith couldn't, but they did want to be sure that she would be fine before they left with her. The last thing they needed was to have to readmit her later on. Perhaps Dr. Brady was being overly cautious, but they realized that there really wasn't such a thing when it came to their little one.

"You're still here, huh Faith?" Dr. Bailey asked.

"Yep," Arizona smiled. "But we get out of here first thing tomorrow!"

"It's about time."

"It was supposed to be Friday, but something came up and Brady couldn't make it to see her before discharge. He insists on it, which just makes him a good doctor, but..."

"But it's Mother's Day and you're stuck here," she said.

"Exactly," she said. "But so are you."

"Only for two more hours," she said. "Tucker asked if he could bring Tuck to his mom's for breakfast and I knew I was working all night last night anyway, so..."

"Well, good," she smiled. "Happy Mother's Day."

"Same to you. Where are you two headed?"

"Say 'we're going to go get breakfast,'" Arizona told Faith. "We thought we'd do something nice for Madre and have it all waiting when she wakes up."

"Yeah," Faith nodded.

"What are you going to eat?"

Faith rarely ate the meals that were served to her at mealtimes. Instead, her parents – or grandparents when they were still in Seattle – would get her something from the cafeteria. Now that her medications were finally all sorted out, she had quite the appetite.

"Ummm..."

"Maybe a bagel again?" she asked. "You like those? With the cream cheese?"

"Milk," she said.

"And milk?" she asked. "Okay. Sounds delicious. What do you think Madre wants? The same thing as you, maybe?"

"Milk," she nodded.

"Oh, Madre wants coffee," she said as the elevator stopped. "Mamas live on coffee."

"Yeah?" she asked as Mommy pushed her I.V. pole while she walked.

"Yep," she replied.

"Have a good day, Faith!" Bailey called out.

"Say 'you too!'" Arizona told her daughter. "Faith, we've got to get this I.V. out. You don't even need it. You got off of your last I.V. med. on Tuesday and you're eating like a champ. What are we doing with this thing still?"

"No know," she said.

"We'll get it out today," she said. "We don't really need Dr. Brady for that. Why didn't Mommy think of that sooner?" she yawned.

"Seepy," she answered.

"Because Mommy's too sleepy to think? You got that right. It's been a long five weeks, huh?" she asked as she picked out bagels for her and her wife. "Which one's for Faith? Don't touch everybody's food. Just point."

Faith selected a blueberry bagel this morning to no one's surprise. It was now a favourite.

"That," she said.

Arizona picked it up and handed it to her. Even though she currently called the hospital home, their little girl had become very interested in more and more "big girl" things in the last week or so. She was now twenty-nine months old and she wanted to do many things all on her own.

"Are you going to carry it today?" she asked.

"Yep," she nodded.

"Faith, tomorrow we get to have lunch at our house! Maybe breakfast, but lunch for sure."

When Faith hadn't gotten discharged on Friday, Arizona had made her doctor promise to come to do it first thing Monday morning. They didn't even care if it meant waking up a sleeping toddler. It would be more than worth it to be home as soon as possible.

"Faith eat," she said.

"You eat lunch?" she asked. "Well, yeah! It's been too long since we've all been home, right?"

"Yep."

"But what happened while we were here?" she asked. "Did you get a new heart?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Yuckies."

"And new medicines that you think are yucky," she said. "I know. You tell us every time you have to take any of th-"

She looked down at Faith to see that the little lady had simply removed the wrapper over her bagel, tossed it on the floor somewhere, and began her breakfast right then and there.

"That doesn't even have the cream cheese yet, Crazy Girl!" she laughed.

"Milk?" she requested, taking another bite.

"Hold on," she chuckled. "You're supposed to eat with your mamas on Mother's Day."

"Oh."

"That's okay," she smiled. "Sofia's coming for lunch. We'll eat together then."

"Yeah?" she asked.

"And then we'll have our actual Mother's Day thing on Thursday," she explained.

They didn't want to actually celebrate the day from a hospital room. They wanted to have the little family gathering that they had every year since Sofia's first non-N.I.C.U. Mother's Day. To the kids, it was about celebrating their moms, but to the moms, it was just as much about celebrating the kids. This year there was so much to celebrate and a hospital room just wouldn't do any of it justice. Sofia happened to have a day off of school on Thursday, so all of her parents were planning for that to be their Mother's Day celebration day.

"Oh."

"What did you get Madre and I?" she teased. "Anything good?"

"Wub."

"Well, love is the best!" she smiled. "But can you say 'love' like a big girl?"

"No," she refused.

"Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn!"

* * *

Callie was awake by the time her girls returned, but she pretended to be asleep as she heard Faith let out a tiny giggle.

"Wake her up," Arizona said as they walked into the room. "Go ahead. Say 'Happy Mother's Day, Madre!"

"Mama's day, Madre!" she said, pulling at one of her mother's arms. "Up! Go!"

"Let's go?" Callie asked, opening her eyes. "What if I don't wanna get up?"

"Yeah do," she smiled. "Hi, Faith."

"Yeah, I do because I want to say hi to Faith?" she smiled. "You might be right."

Callie picked the little girl up and gave her a kiss as she sat on her lap. The now half-eaten bagel was still in her hand. She took another bite before she gave Madre her own good morning smooch.

"Did you get a head start on breakfast today?" she laughed.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Milk?" she asked her mommy.

Arizona opened the milk and poured in into one of Faith's sippy cups. She must have asked for it ten more times since they were in the cafeteria. After she handed that over, she passed Callie her coffee.

"Thank you," she smiled. "Happy Mother's Day."

"Happy Mother's Day to you, too," she smiled, leaning in for a kiss.

"Kiss? Kiss?" Faith asked.

"You need one, too?" Arizona wondered, kissing her little lips. "How's that?"

"Yeah."

"Madre, can you believe tomorrow we really, for real, no matter what, get to bring our girl and her new working heart home? For good?"

"Faith?" the toddler asked.

"No, Sofia," Madre teased. "Who got a new heart?"

"Faith do that."

"You did that," Arizona nodded. "Miss Faith, are you becoming a chatterbox like that sister of yours?"

Faith had been a rather quiet child – Sofia's polar opposite – until just recently. Now that she was fast approaching the two-and-a-half mark in just about a month's time, she seemed to have a lot more to express.

"No."

"You're not?" she asked.

"Faith, should we call Sister and tell her tomorrow you're going home?"

Even though they would be seeing Sofia in just a few hours when Mark brought her for a visit, they had promised to call so that she could wish them a happy Mother's Day first thing in the morning. They usually didn't tell Sofia when Faith was going home, but since Arizona had been making Dr. Brady swear that it would be Monday all weekend, it seemed like a pretty safe thing to do.

"Yeah."

Arizona dialed the number as Faith tried to reach for Madre's coffee. She knew that those cups were hot because she had been warned many times and knew what the warning meant, but she was still very curious about this magical liquid that her moms swore by.

"You drink your milk," Callie told her.

"Hello?" Sofia answered her father's phone.

They had been expecting the call, so she had been standing by waiting for them. They knew she missed the familiar routine. Sadly, hospital visits were also becoming well known to her now. They couldn't wait to tell her that that was about to change.

"Hi, Sof," Arizona smiled.

"Hi," she said. "Happy Mother's Day."

"Thank you," they both said.

"Tanks," Faith chimed in.

"You're not a mom!" Callie replied, tickling her. "Silly!"

Sofia laughed. "Faith, Mother's Day is for people who are moms and step-moms. We're lucky 'cause we got lots of moms."

"Yeah," she agreed.

"How many moms do you have?" Callie asked.

When Faith didn't answer, Sofia took over. She tried to be good about letting her little sister learn and giving her a chance, but she wasn't always the most patient.

"You got two," she said. "And I got two moms and a step-mom."

"Yep," Arizona smiled. "And we're the luckiest moms ever because we have you."

"What are you and Faith doin'?" Sofia wondered.

"Nothing much," Callie replied. "Having some breakfast."

"Max and me made Lexie breakfast," Sofia said. "Daddy had to help 'cause we don't really know how to do very much cooking and Max kept running off to play."

"Crazy Max!" Callie smiled as Faith laughed about this.

"How's your arm today, Sofia?" Arizona asked.

"Really itchy," she complained. "I want my cast off soon."

"Almost," Callie said. "Not quite yet. But we do have some other good news for you."

"What is it?" she asked. "I like surprises."

"Faith gets to come home tomorrow," Arizona smiled, wishing that she could see the reaction that she was about to hear.

"Mommy, are you serious?!" she asked.

"I am," she confirmed.

"Today's the last day?"

"Yeah," Callie said. "Tomorrow you'll have your buddy back."

"Good."


	33. The Other Mother

"Hershey, how do your spell you name?" Sofia asked on Thursday morning.

She was making Mother's Day cards for Callie and Arizona while they started making all of the food for their little celebration. She and her brother had already made one for Lexie that they would give to her today, but she hadn't wanted to make these ones until Faith was home to add to the little project.

The dog had been by Faith's side almost the entire time that she had been home, as if she knew that her little friend was still recovering and sometimes needed a little extra cuddle time. Faith, of course, was happy to provide plenty of pets in return.

"Hershey, come here," Sofia told her, knowing that her name was written on her tag.

"Mine Wub," Faith protested as the dog left her side.

"Her name isn't 'Wub,'" Big Sister replied. "It's _Hershey_. Say that. _Hershey_."

"Hushey," she said.

"Closer. Good try," she smiled. "Come here, Hershey," she said again.

Hershey obliged and got up from where she had been laying on the floor and letting Faith pet her.

"Back, Wub," she ordered. "Back."

"_Hershey_," Sofia clarified again. "Call her her name. Do you think you'd want to be called 'Wub?'"

"Yeah," she decided.

"No."

Sofia checked the dog's tag and noticed that she was one letter off on the spelling of it. Lately she had been trying very hard to sound out words she wanted to spell. It wasn't as easy as simply asking how to spell things, but she was getting pretty good at it, considering that she was still only in first grade.

"Oh, man!" she exclaimed. "I missed your y, Hershey."

"Oh, man!" Faith mimicked.

Sofia added Hershey's final letter and then called her little sister over to "sign" the cards. She had printed her name in pencil and planned on just having the twenty-nine month old simply trace over it with a pink marker.

"Do your name," she said. "Write over those letters, okay?"

Of course, this attempt failed. Faith just wanted to scribble on Callie's card, and she would probably decide to do just the same to Arizona's. This was disappointing to her sister, who had really tried hard to make nice cards for her moms.

"No, Faith!" she replied. "You put your name. You're not doing it good!"

Sofia didn't realize it, but her moms could hear everything that was going on from the kitchen. Even though Faith was doing well, they were still nervous that something would go wrong. After all, so many things had in the past. Therefore they now had baby monitors throughout the house so that they could always hear what was going on with their girl. Of course, they also supervised her in other ways, but this provided peace of mind when she was resting or playing with her sister in her room like this morning.

"Sofia Robbin Sloan, be a patient sister, please!" Arizona called up.

It was amazing how fast the sisters could just jump right back into their familiar pattern. Sofia was obviously glad to have her sister home, but she was still a seven-year-old with a two-year-old sister who sometimes got on her nerves. New heart or not, they still had their little spats from time to time.

"She's ruining a surprise for you!"

"I'm sure it'll still be perfect!" Callie replied.

Sofia decided to give in and let Faith "sign" her name as a series of scribbles even though she didn't think it looked very good.

"There," she said as they completed the cards. "All done. Pick one."

Faith reached for Callie's card.

"When we go downstairs when my dad and Lexie and Max get here, you give this to Madre, okay?" she said.

"Faith do," she nodded. "Sof?"

"Yeah?"

"Pay?" she asked.

"Let's play."

* * *

A half an hour later, Hershey came running down the stairs as Mark, Lexie, and Maxwell arrived. She was barking as if some stranger had just barged into the home. This was probably due to excitement over the fact that they had brought Libby along, but it was still funny.

"It's Mark, Lexie, Max, and Libby!" Callie laughed. "You just lived with them for the last five weeks, Crazy!"

"Hi, Hershey," Lexie smiled, reaching out to pet the dog. "It's just us!"

Eventually, Hershey stopped barking and she, Libby, and Max started playing together.

"Happy Mother's Day," Arizona told Lexie. "Again."

"Happy Mother's Day," she returned. "It must feel so good to be home now."

"Yeah," Callie replied. "I go back to work tomorrow which sort of sucks, but hey."

"We said we wanted our normal life back," her wife said. "We have it. Take it."

"Says the one who doesn't go back for three more weeks," she replied.

"It was supposed to be your turn to stay home longer, but you said you wanted to go back."

At the time of this choice, Callie really had felt ready to resume this aspect of her life. However, now that she was so close to returning to work, she realized she wasn't exactly looking forward to it as completely as she thought she would. She loved devoting her entire day to her family and now she would have to split her time again.

"I know," she said. "I know."

"It'll be fine," Mark replied. "Even when you both go back. Emily's great. The girls will be fine."

"Yeah."

Sofia and Faith came down the stairs. Even though it was just a little celebratory family day, Sofia had insisted on dressing up. She wore a purple dress to match her cast and the sparkly shoes that her sister had gotten her for her birthday. Seeing this, Faith Evelyn also decided to dress up. Her dress was pink and it matched perfectly with the somewhat oversized bow Mommy had put in her hair much to Madre's dismay.

"Well, don't you two look fancy," Mark smiled.

Faith twirled around as if she were some little model in a fashion show or something.

"So pretty," Lexie smiled. "And it's nice to see you home, Faith."

"Yep," she agreed.

"Ready to eat?" Arizona asked the kids.

"Yeah," Sofia said.

Faith handed Callie's card to Arizona. Her sister had told her that it was Madre's, but she just seemed to feel like Mommy should have it.

"What's this?" Arizona asked, pretending she didn't know about the little project that had been going on.

"It's for Madre," Sofia said, handing Arizona her card. She also gave Lexie hers.

"Okay," Arizona said, giving Callie her card. "Can we read them?"

"Yeah."

"Madre," Callie read. "You're a really good madre because you always say really nice things to us and cook us good food."

"Yep," Faith agreed.

"Thank you," Callie said.

"Eat?" Faith asked.

"Can Lexie and I read ours first?" Arizona asked. "Please?"

"No," she said. "Eat."

"Somebody got a little too used to the hospital's meal schedule," Mark laughed, handing her a piece of fruit to snack on.

"I have some, Daddy?" Maxwell asked.

"Yep."

* * *

"Stetson said that we're not a real family," Sofia told her parents as they ate together.

She certainly felt like they were a family and she didn't understand why some people didn't see it this way. They had just started a unit on families at school and everyone had been asked to bring in a picture of their family to display in the classroom. The goal was to show that families could be unique, but equal. Not thinking much of it, Callie and Arizona had helped her select one of the seven of them – plus both dogs – that had been taken on the day that Faith had left the hospital. When she got to school and her "friend" Stetson told her that family wasn't real because of its unique qualities, Sofia was a bit taken aback. Still, this was the first time any of them were hearing about it.

"Why did he say that?" Arizona asked.

While those words were definitely not her favourite, they wanted Sofia to feel free to talk about things like this openly with them. Their girl hadn't really asked very many questions about her family, but they suspected that they would be coming soon, especially now that some kid at school had brought it up to her. They weren't exactly sure how they planned to tackle explaining the details, but they did know that they always wanted to reinforce that their family was built more with love than it was with DNA.

"'Cause he said Max and Faith aren't my brother and sister 'cause they don't look like me."

Of all of the things for this first grader to decide on as a reason that the family was different, he went with this. He didn't even select the fact that the family had multiple moms or anything like that. They had to find this just a little bit humorous, especially since Sofia and Maxwell actually were blood related.

"How did that make you feel?" Mark wondered.

"What are you? A shrink?" Callie teased.

"It's parenting," he said. "I'm going with it, Torres."

"I don't think Stetson's brother looks like him either," Sofia said.

Callie smiled. She knew that this wouldn't be the end of the discussion, but Sofia didn't seem too worried about what others thought.

"Families are a little different because the people are different," the seven-year-old explained, just like her teacher had taught the day before. "It's called unique. You can't be the same family if you got different people. Nobody else's family has us."

"You're a really smart kid, you know," Lexie smiled.

"I know," she nodded.

* * *

"We have two sleeping kiddos," Arizona smiled as she walked into their bedroom later that night. "Playing with Max and the dogs wore them both right out."

"I'm surprised Faith lasted that long," Callie said. "Five weeks after a heart transplant? That kid amazes me every day. Not that Sof doesn't, but just..."

"Yeah," she nodded.

The room grew quiet. All of the talk of Mother's Day, love, and family made them think. It had started out as something that was supposed to make a class full of children reflect, but it had had a deep impact on Callie and Arizona as well.

"Today, did you think about...?"

"Yeah."

Faith's donor, who they didn't even know anything about, had almost become an extension of their family as well. They were so grateful for Faith's new heart, but the child who it had come from was never far from their thoughts. Professionally they could separate the donors from their recipient patients. They had been able to do this since they were interns. They had to. Yet, now that the donor heart was beating inside of their own child's chest, it was difficult not to think about that child and their family.

"That mom didn't get a happy Mother's day this year," Arizona said. "Her toddler didn't scribble on her card."

"I know."

"I remember telling Alex that we just have to do our jobs, focus on the lives we save, and move forward," Arizona said. "We were coming back from a harvest and he thought I was heartless."

"You?"

"He didn't know me very well yet."

"Clearly," she agreed.

"I told him that I do think about the donor kids, but I just...stay focused."

"Yeah."

"But being the parent of a recipient makes that impossible," she said.

"Big time," she agreed, kissing her wife. "But all we can do is be grateful and raise Faith to do something with her life. Something that matters. Even if it's in her own little way."

"Or she could find a way to prevent H.L.H.S. in the first place," Arizona decided.

"Or we can aim really, really high," she said. "But I think we might want to focus on the small goals first. Genius Cardio Gods should probably be potty trained and have table manners."

"Yes," she smiled. "They should."

* * *

The next day, Arizona arrived at the hospital with Faith in toe. It was Madre's first day back and they had packed her a little lunch – since they had both had enough of that cafeteria food to last them a few lifetimes – but Mommy had another mission first. They weren't just there to see Madre.

"You had me paged?" Teddy asked. "What's wrong? Have you called Brady? What -?"

"She's fine," she replied.

"Oh," Teddy said. "Okay, so why the page? Just to say hi?"

"Hi," Faith smiled.

"Hi," she smiled back. "How's that new heart, Pretty Girl?"

"It's about that," Arizona said. "The new heart."

"I thought you just said –"

"You did the harvest," Arizona explained.

"I did..."

She really wasn't sure where her friend was going with this. The harvest and the transplant had both gone well. Faith had a healthy heart and she was doing better than ever these days, even if she was still recovering.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about her donor," Arizona replied. "Now that she's home and things are more normal, I can't stop letting my thoughts drift to a mom somewhere in Seattle who doesn't have her child with her. She doesn't get to comb her hair out after a bath, tuck her in at night, or even scrub the marker marks off of the walls. I was watching Faith play today and it hit me that that child's mom doesn't get that. We owe so much to that child and those parents and we don't even –"

Teddy looked down to Faith, who was innocently playing with a baby doll and paying no attention to this conversation.

"Arizona, you know the donor didn't die so that –"

"I understand how donation works," she said. "But I have my baby and my baby has somebody's heartbeat. Their _heartbeat_, Teddy. You can't get much more connected than that. That family's hurting and –"

Callie, who Teddy had paged when she thought that something was wrong with Faith, came running over.

"What's wrong?"

"I want to know about the donor," Arizona said. "I know that –"

"I'm not going to tell you anything because technically that goes against doctor-patient confidentiality?" Teddy asked. "Yeah."

"Oh, come on. It's not like I'm going to stalk this poor family. I just need a name. For my own peace of mind. I need to know who we owe Faith's life to."

"I do, too," Callie said. "I pray for a family who I don't know every night."

"Wouldn't having a name make the guilt or whatever you feel worse?" Teddy asked.

"That's what you think," Arizona said. "But no."

"Oh."


	34. Everybody's Better

**This took me much, much longer than I thought it would to get up. I've been really busy with other things lately. The good news is that, after Tuesday, I should have plenty of time for updates. Look forward to those :)**

* * *

Callie and Arizona's thoughts about the donor and his or her family continued, but they did realize that they couldn't know anything for a reason. Teddy wasn't going to tell them a thing and, even if they had the best of intentions, they were going to respect that. If they were in the opposite position, would they want the name of one of their girls to be known to a stranger? Even if that stranger was an organ recipient, they couldn't be sure. They chose to keep praying for and thinking about the tiny soul who had given their daughter such a huge gift, but they had to try to move on. This guilt was normal, but for the sake of their children they couldn't let it take over.

Two weeks later, Faith and Arizona were sitting in Dr. Brady's office waiting for Faith's first post-op appointment. The little lady got up and walked towards the door.

"Faith, stay here, please," she told her.

"Done," she said.

"We're not done yet," she told her. "Sorry. Come here. Want to read a book? We have a book in your bag."

"No," she said. "Pee."

Faith had taken an interest in using the bathroom like a big girl last week. For two days in a row, they found that she was spending a lot of time in there just trying to figure everything out. One of these times, Arizona simply asked her if she wanted to go to the store and choose a potty. When she said yes, they bought one and put it in the bathroom. They weren't pressuring her to use it just yet because they didn't want her to become resistant to the idea. Instead, they were just pulling her pants down and sitting her on it whenever she seemed to want to try. She had yet to actually use the potty, however. Therefore, this request - especially while out in public - took Mommy by surprise. Did she really have to pee?

"Let me check your diaper," she said, going over to her. "Are you wet?"

She wasn't.

"Pee," she said again.

"Mommy doesn't have your potty," she replied. "You'll have to use the big, big toilet. Mommy will help, though."

"Oh."

"C'mon."

Arizona doubted that this trip was going to be much of a success, but she wasn't about to discourage potty training at the same time. If Faith was saying she wanted to go to the bathroom, they were giving it a try.

Dr. Brady's office was in a building full of various different medicine-related practices. There wasn't a washroom in his particular space, so they had to go down the hall a little. Arizona let the receptionist know and then they headed out.

"We have to hurry a bit so that we don't keep Dr. Brady waiting," she told her. "C'mon."

Faith took off running past the bathroom. Arizona tried to stop her and point out that she had gone too far when she realized that her daughter had used her potty excuse as a way to attempt to skip out on her appointment. She giggled as she ran to the front doors and tried unsuccessfully to open them. Mommy couldn't help but be just a little impressed by this trick. Faith Evelyn was one smart cookie, that was for sure. They were in trouble now.

She walked over to her and sat her down in a chair by the doors. Getting down to her level, she calmly, yet sternly explained how the little stunt her child had just pulled was wrong.

"Faith, you just told Mommy a lie," she said.

"Yeah, Mama?" she asked.

"Do you really have to go potty?"

"Go home?" she asked.

"Thank you for being honest," she said. "That's the truth, right? It's not true that you had to pee."

"Oh."

"Telling lies isn't a very good thing, Faith."

While she did realize that Faith was still very, very young and this fib was pretty harmless, she didn't want Faith to think that these little tricks were okay. One day, the twenty-nine month old she was now would be three, and four, and five. Now was the time to start working on lessons like this, not later when it became habit to try to get out of things. She wasn't trying to be hard on Faith, but she didn't want it to be considered fine either.

"Oh."

"What do we say when we do something we shouldn't do?"

"Uh oh."

"And?" she asked. "Do we say 'sorry' sometimes?"

"Sowwy," she said, with a little pronunciation problem.

"I forgive you," she smiled, giving Faith a kiss.

At this age, they couldn't harp on things. Five minutes from now, the incident would be out of Faith's mind. Arizona had to let it go as well.

"Home, pease?"

"I _love_ that you're being honest and asking with such nice words," she smiled. "But we have to make sure your heart is good in there still. Can we do that? You're brave. You're going to do awesome today. I know it."

"No."

"When we're done seeing Dr. Brady, we can make Playdough that you can _eat_," she said, trying to compromise. "It's going to be pretty cool."

"Yeah."

Now that Faith had some energy back, Arizona had been trying to come up with fun things for them to do while Madre and Sofia were at work and school. Edible Playdough was the plan for the afternoon, and maybe – just maybe – telling Faith now would help with getting through the appointment.

"Yep!" she nodded. "Are you ready to be super brave for me?"

"Yeah," she replied. "No pee," she as Arizona picked her up.

"You didn't have to pee," she agreed. "I know. When you do, you can tell me, though. I'd be happy to take you when you really want to try the big girl potty. That's a good thing!"

"Yep?"

"Yeah!" she nodded. "Once you're potty trained, we don't have to change diapers anymore. Potty training's great!"

Mommy kissed her cheek and Faith giggled as they headed back into the waiting room of Dr. Brady's office.

"What colour Playdough should we make?" Arizona asked. "I asked Sister this morning and she said she wants to play with some pink and purple when she comes home. What about you? The same?"

"All," she decided.

"All of the colours?" she asked. "You want rainbow Playdough?"

"Yeah."

Arizona knew that this meant that she would have to add various different colours to different batches of the dough and then, once it was made, roll it into a rainbow coloured mass for her girl. It wouldn't be that much extra work, though. Faith had to go through yet another appointment. This was the least Mommy could do.

"Yeah," she said.

"Okay," she replied. "We'll do that then."

The nurse who worked alongside Dr. Brady, Melissa, smiled as she walked up to the little girl. She knew that Faith, like many of the patients they saw, didn't like any of this very much. Therefore, she tried to really befriend the little lady all over again each time they saw each other.

"Hi, Faith," she said. "Would you like to come with me, please?"

"No," Faith answered.

"Well, don't hold back," she laughed.

"Let's just be brave and get this all done so we can make our Playdough, okay?" Arizona asked.

"Oh, Playdough's fun!" Melissa commented as Faith decided that she better follow her. "What's your favourite colour of Playdough?"

"All," she answered.

"All of them?" she asked.

"Hey, Faith," Dr. Brady smiled.

He wasn't quite ready to see Faith yet. He was actually going to head in to see another patient until Melissa was done the basic first part of the appointment.

"Say 'hi,'" Arizona encouraged.

"How's that new heart?"

"Say 'that's what I'm here to find out!'"

"Yeah," she agreed. "Go home."

"Then we can go home," Mommy agreed. "When we're done. We think your new heart is good, but we want to check it out."

Faith put her hand over her chest.

"Is that where your heart is?" Melissa asked.

"We've been learning body parts," Arizona said. "She can't quite point out 'toes,' but she knows 'heart,'" she smiled. "With the scar there, it's a nice hint."

Faith bent over and pointed to her toes. "Toe," she said.

"You know toes, don't you?" Dr. Brady smiled. "Mommy didn't think so!"

"Yeah."

"You go with Melissa and I'll come see you and your new heart soon."

"Mama?"

"And Mommy," Arizona said. "I'll come with you. I want to know all about that new heart, too!"

* * *

Faith's new heart was working great. At this point, Dr. Brady wasn't overly concerned about rejection and he was happy to see that she was doing so well these days. Of course, she wouldn't be considered fully recovered for some time, but so far, so good.

As they left the office, Mommy mentioned having to let Madre know how the appointment had gone. This caused Faith to start asking about Callie on the drive home, so Arizona figured that they'd stop by the hospital for a few minutes. Not only would Callie enjoy the visit, but so would everyone else that they were friends with – including the ones who had treated their girl.

As they pulled up to the hospital, a look of fear spread across the little one's face. She obviously didn't like the hospital, yet it was also her parents' workplace, so sometimes it wasn't scary. Today, she wasn't sure what she felt.

"We're just visiting," Arizona said, taking her out of her carseat. "It's okay. Do you want to visit still or should we just go home?"

"Maday?" she wondered.

"Madre's in there," Arizona said.

"Go in," she decided.

"Okay."

"Mama?" she asked.

"No yuckies."

"Nobody here has any medicine for Faith today," she promised.

Once they got inside and she realized that they really weren't there to admit her, Faith loved all of the attention she was receiving. All of the nurses were waving and smiling at her as she walked by the nurse's station and now Alex was letting her play with his stethoscope. Callie was in surgery, but she was expected to be finishing up soon, so they could hang around for a while now that Faith was happy.

"Madre was telling me that you had to go see Dr. Brady today," Alex told Faith.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"How'd it go?"

"Good," she said.

"Dr. Brady said you're new heart's doing its job, right?" Arizona smiled. "We're so happy."

"Good job," she said.

"Good job new heart," Arizona agreed. "And good job Faith for being the bravest kid ever."

"When are you back here?" Alex asked Arizona as Faith held his stethoscope to his leg, because it was the highest point she could reach on him.

"Next week," she said.

"Good," he replied. "I'm sure you don't exactly _want_ to leave your kids, but we need you here. It's been far too long."

"It has."

Callie came up to them a few minutes later when she was out of surgery. She had a panicked look on her face until she saw that Faith was just playing.

"Did you not get my text?" Arizona asked, kissing her wife. "I sent you a text saying that the appointment was great."

"I heard it go off and asked a nurse to check it, but then there was a complication and everyone sort of got side-tracked," she replied, checking it now. "And then someone tells me you're here and..."

"Everything's okay," she smiled. "Great even."

"Good," she said. "Faith, what's going on in Alex's leg?" she laughed.

Faith giggled.

"What is that one for?" Callie asked. "We use that to hear your...?"

"Heart," she said.

"Right," she nodded.

Alex's pager went off. He was being paged to the room of a patient whose mother he couldn't really stand, so he was less than enthusiastic.

"Can I have that back, please?" he asked Faith. "The kid with the crazy mom needs me."

Faith handed it over.

"There's no such thing as a 'crazy' mom to a sick kid," Arizona told him. "We're just determined to do what's best for our babies."

"No, this one's just crazy," he said. "Not vaccinating your kid and then wondering why he gets –"

"It's a parent's choice whether or not to vaccinate," she said. "I agree that it's more of a risk not to have it done, but be nice."

"Fine."

"Hey, can you take Sofia's cast off at some point today?" Callie asked him. "She was fine with me putting it on, but I just don't think any kid needs the memory of their mother holding a cast cutter to their arm."

"Probably not," Arizona agreed.

"Bring her in after school," he said.

"Will do," Arizona agreed.

* * *

Callie arrived home just before dinner, but Arizona was giving Faith a bath. After having her cast removed, Sofia could finally soak in the tub again, so it was one of the first things she did when they went home. She spent a good forty minutes in her bubble bath before she no longer wanted to sit in the cooling water. After that, her little sister decided that she needed a bath as well, even though she didn't have a reason for needing one earlier than usual.

"Madre, my arms all better," they could hear the seven-year-old telling her.

"I know."

"Alex cut it off of my arm," she said. "It made Faith cry because she was scared of the noise."

"It was pretty loud, huh?"

"I was brave," she told her. "And then we played with Playdough that we could eat. Mommy says that's because she knows Faith's going to eat it anyway."

"Where are Mommy and Faith?"

"Faith wanted a bubble bath," she said. "Her heart check was good. Mommy told me."

"Yep."

"Everybody's better," she smiled.

Just then, Faith came running down the stairs, still wet and wearing nothing but her hooded towel. She had been getting out of the bath when she heard her madre come home and she _had_ to go say hi as soon as possible.

Callie laughed.

"Did you escape while Mommy tried to dry you off?" she wondered.

"Yeah."

Callie picked her up and gave her a kiss. Even moments like this meant so much more than they typically would. Faith would always be on medications and have health concerns, but she was doing well. They would never take that for granted. There had been a time where they seriously wondered if she would even make it to this age. Yet, here she was, being just as fun and silly as any other toddler almost as if nothing had ever held her back.

"You're silly."

"Faith," she said.

"You're just Faith?" she laughed.

Arizona came down the stairs with pyjamas and a diaper for Faith in her hands. She kissed her wife..

"Let Mom get you dressed, okay?"

"No."

"Yes, please."

"Pee."

"That's your excuse for everything, huh?" Arizona asked. "Earlier you said you had to pee. Now you're saying you have to pee. Remember how I said I want you to tell me that only if you really need to go?"

Faith began peeing on Madre. Yes, she had used potty training as an excuse before, but this time she really meant it. That was pretty clear now.

"Ew!" Sofia exclaimed. "Faith's peeing everywhere!"

"Pee," Faith smiled.

"Yeah," Callie replied, taking the diaper from her wife and holding it under Faith . "All over me."

"Hey, she told us," Arizona smiled. "I just didn't think she meant it."

"That's gross," Sofia replied.

"It's okay," Callie said. "We'll just clean it up."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Mommy...?"

"Yes?"

"Now that everybody's better, can we have our best party ever?"

"You ask that now?" she laughed. "As your sister pees in the living room?"

"She's a seven-year-old and we owe her a party," Callie said. "Until she gets it, she's going to have a one track mind."

"True."

"I want a party for me and for Faith."

"Sounds good," Arizona said.

Faith giggled.

"Do you think it's funny that you peed on me."

"Good Faith."

"Good job, Faith?" she asked. "Well, technically you didn't wet your diaper, did you?"

"No!"


	35. Time to Plan

**Thank you for the reviews.**

* * *

"And can we have a piñata?" Sofia asked.

Now that Faith was doing better, her big sister seemed to only have one thing on her mind these days. She wanted to have their "best party ever." Every day she had a new suggestion for it. They had added purple cupcakes, sparkly dresses, confetti, and goodie bags to the fireworks and dancing that she had originally wanted. Apparently she thought a piñata would be a nice touch as well now.

"A piñata, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Can you go get dressed, please?"

Today would be Arizona's third day back to work and they had yet to be able to be on time for the other two. Even though Faith was staying home with Emily, they still got her up, dressed and fed before the nanny came. They felt that this routine worked best for the family, especially since they often worked long days. If they didn't have quality time together in the mornings, they might miss out on it altogether. They hated this, but they made the best of the situation. However, they still had to get back into this routine now that Arizona had to get herself ready for the day again, too.

"I think it's pajama day at school," she replied.

"Nice try," Callie smiled. "Clothes, Sof."

"If I get dressed, could we get a piñata at the party?" she wondered as she got up off of the bed where she had been watching Callie get ready in her moms' room. "Please?"

"We'll talk about it," Callie said. "Get dressed, Sofia."

Faith picked up a make-up brush as her sister left the room and started brushing it over her face. There wasn't much make-up left on it at all, but she still felt like a special big girl. Madre could tell by the giant grin that had taken over her face.

"Are you beautiful, Faith?" she asked.

"Pity," she nodded.

"You are," she nodded. "Who do you look _just _like?"

"Wub?" she asked.

"Like your love?" she laughed. "You don't look like Hershey!" she told her as she heard Arizona answer her phone in the other room. "You look gorgeous just like your mama."

"Yep," she agreed.

"What would you like at the party?" she asked.

"Mama," she answered.

"Oh, we'll all be there," she told her. "Do you want anything fun there? Sister wants lots of stuff and all you ask for his Mommy?"

"Yeah," she said. "Faith mama."

"You're so easy," she told her as Arizona walked into the room.

"Faith? Easy?" the blonde smiled. "Who would have _ever_ thought we'd say that?"

"Sofia's quite the little party planner," Callie explained. "Now she needs a piñata."

Arizona cringed. She tried not to be an over-protective mom too often, but she just couldn't hold back sometimes."I'm not sure how I feel about giving kids a big stick and letting them smack something."

"It'll be fine," she asked. "Who was on the phone?"

"Emily," she said. "She's having car trouble and she's going to be late. She'll be here eventually, though."

"So in the meantime, we what? Take Faith to work?"

"I guess," she shrugged.

"Yeah!" Faith smiled.

"Faith Evelyn, are you going to be a doctor someday?" Arizona asked.

"Yep," she nodded.

"Like Mommy and Madre and lots of our friends?"

"Yeah, mama," she said.

"What do doctors do?" Callie asked. "They make people...?"

"Yuckies," she said.

Clearly, Callie was looking for the word "better." However, Faith didn't exactly understand this yet. To her, doctors meant medicine and surgery. Those made her better, but she didn't exactly make that connection in her two-year-old mind yet.

"They make people take yucky medicine?" Arizona asked. "Does that medicine help?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to become a doctor and save babies from H.L.H.S.?" Callie wondered.

Of course, they would support their daughters in whatever it was they wished to do. However, this was a frequently mentioned career suggestion for their little lady.

"Huh?"

"That's what made your other heart not work," Arizona explained.

"Oh," she asked, brushing the make-up brush over her face again.

"Does that sound like a plan?" Callie asked. "Do you want to be the doctor who learns how to prevent broken hearts?"

"Be Faith," she said.

"You just want to be Faith forever?" Mommy asked. "You got it, Kid. You'll be Faith Evelyn Torres for your whole life. And you look so beautiful with your pretty make-up!"

"Yeah," she agreed.

* * *

"Mawk!" Faith called out, still not completely able to pronounce her sister's dad's name.

Luckily, the nurses and other doctors at the hospital had been helping them keep an eye on Faith as they worked. Callie moved a few things around in her schedule so that she could buy them some time until Emily came to pick Faith up.

The tiny girl loved getting to see everyone. Mark was talking to a patient who he had just met with when she spotted him. Callie had to talk to him anyway, but Faith seemed to want to do it right away, without paying any mind to the other person who had Mark's attention at the moment.

"Mawk!"

"Shh, we need to let Mark talk to that man," Callie explained. "Mark's working."

"Mawk work?" she asked.

"Mark's working," she nodded. "We're going to wait for him to finish talking with that man and then we're going to tell him that Sister's going to his house tomorrow night. That's what she said she'd like to do."

"Ohh...!"

A nurse asked Callie a question about a patient and – in the few seconds that it took her to answer – Faith had run off. She was just about to head into a patient's room when Callie noticed and stopped her.

"You can't go in, Baby," she told her.

"Big," she corrected.

"Big girl?" she asked, picking her up. "Yep. You're big now, right?"

"What are you doin' here, Faith?" Mark, who had just finished speaking with the patient wondered as he walked up to them. "Is your heart okay?"

"Yep," Callie smiled. "Emily's running late. Mommy's in surgery, so I'm in charge of keeping this one from destroying the place."

"Hey, you used to wish for the day that she'd have this much energy," Mark said.

"Oh, I know," she agreed. "But I'm also trying to work."

"Why don't you ask the daycare to take her? If some other kid is off sick, they might have a spot. They usually don't do that, but you're stuck. She's doing so much better, too."

"True," she replied. "Good idea."

"I'm full of 'em," he smiled. "So, Robbins texted me saying that Sof wants to come to my place?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," he nodded. "Sounds good."

"Good?" Faith asked.

"Good," Mark nodded. "Max'll be happy. He's been asking when Sofia's going to be home."

"Why didn't you ask for her then?" Callie wondered.

They had very flexible custody arrangements. If Sofia requested to be at one of the houses, she was almost always able to go. The same thing typically happened if the parents had a particular request. They didn't really have set days or anything like that.

"You guys finally get normal, happy family time," he said. "It's not like I don't see her at all or something. I just picked her up from school yesterday. I just happened to drop her off at your place."

"True," she said. "Still. Tomorrow she and all of her party planning ideas are all yours."

"What now?" he laughed.

"A piñata," she said. "Though, it might be nice to beat a giant heart. It would take out a lot of the built up aggression Arizona and I have had thanks to H.L.H.S."

"Piñatas are fun, right?" Mark asked Faith. "Of course Sof wants one and her very late birthday and your..."

"Organ transplant party?" Callie replied. "Yeah. I know. Great combo."

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"Yeah?" Callie asked, giving her girl a kiss. "Do you want to go see if the daycare people will let you play while you wait for Emily?"

"Pay toys?"

"Play with toys," she nodded. "And other new friends."

"Faith wub 'em."

"You love friends?" she asked. "They're pretty fun, right?"

"Yep."

* * *

After some begging on Callie's part, the daycare staff did agree to take Faith for the hour or so before Emily could get there. Still, this didn't help her madre get any work done. At first, Faith had protested, not sure what this whole "daycare" experience was. However, once that was over, Callie stood there watching her play in the doll center with a few other little girls who had embraced her like she had always been in their little group. Callie couldn't bring herself to leave.

"Why did you page -?" Arizona, who had just gotten out of the O.R. asked as she walked up.

"Look," she said.

Arizona smiled. When they had first found out about Faith's hypoplastic left heart syndrome diagnosis, it was tough to imagine this day. Faith truly had come such a long way. There was really no way that anyone would be able to tell that anything had been wrong with their baby. While she would never be in the clear as far as cardiac problems were concerned, they would take this.

"She's just...playing," Callie told her. "We went from having her on a transplant list to this? What?!"

"Awesome," Arizona replied.

Faith noticed that her moms were watching her. At first, Callie paniced. Would this only cause her to get emotional again? She didn't want to have to settle her once more. Also, she really would have to get back to working at some point, no matter how much she wanted to delay it and watch the wonder that was her little one being nothing but ordinary.

"Hi, Big Girl!" Arizona decided to say. "Did you make some friends?"

Maybe if she sounded happy enough, Faith would be okay and carry on playing. She didn't know if it would work, but she tried. Luckily, a smile spread across her little lady's face.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Cool!"

One of the teachers – who had also been a teacher there when Sofia had been in daycare – came to the door.

"She's having so much fun," she smiled.

"It's nice to see her playing with other kids," Callie agreed. "We take her to the park and stuff, but she doesn't get the same interaction with other toddlers as Sofia did at her age."

"Unless you count sick kids on the Peds. ward," Arizona added. "Which isn't really the same."

"We have a spot available here," the teacher, Gianna, mentioned. "If you'd feel comfortable with her coming, we'd be happy to have her."

"Thanks, but –" Arizona started to say.

"We'll think about it," Callie interjected.

* * *

"We're thinking about it?" Arizona asked that night, as the conversation came up again during a potty training session.

"Arizona, she won't stop talking about those little girls. Our kid made friends all by herself today. She _wants_ that. She's ready."

"She's always been intellectually ready," Arizona said. "But physically?"

"Physically, she's still recovering. Yes, I do realize this. But she's still so much better off than she was. She's doing much, much better than she was when we hired Emily."

"Emily's been great," Arizona said. "What? We just let her go because Faith spent an hour playing with some little girls?"

"Pay a baby," Faith said. "Fun, Mama! Fun, baby!"

"You and your friends had fun with the babies?" Callie wondered. "Tell Mommy that you'll be fine now. You're doing better now. Your meds. aren't as complicated either. The daycare teachers could give them to you, I think."

"Yuck," she replied.

"You're considering this?" Mommy asked.

"Arizona, we've wanted normal for years. We've wanted to be able to plan. It's here. Take it."

Arizona took a deep breath. Maybe Callie was right. Even though today wasn't a full day, Faith had loved it, with the exception of being dropped off. They also couldn't keep her in a bubble forever. One day, they would have to make this choice. She knew that.

"What about preschool?" she asked, agreeing to plan.

"What about it?"

"What if we put this off just a _little_ longer?" she questioned. "Hear me out."

"What?"

"Sof started preschool when she was three. If we start sending Faith around then, I think that would be good."

"Yeah," Callie agreed.

"So why put her in daycare right now? Why have her make two transitions so close together? If we just wait, she could make one transition and we could work with the preschool to make sure they're ready for her before we send her. I could feel better about it, you could feel better about it, and Faith would get to go still. Plus, it would give time for Emily to find a new job. I know that shouldn't be a part of our consideration, but she's taken care of our children. That's not something I take lightly. We owe her."

"I know."

"Okay?"

"Deal," Callie said. "Faith you get to go to preschool when you're three!"

"Pee!" she exclaimed as she peed, for the first time ever, in her potty.

"You're just full of big girl things today, huh?" Arizona asked. "We watch you make friends, we decide preschool sounds right for you, _and _you pee!"

"Faith went pee?" Sofia asked, coming into the bathroom.

She was supposed to be doing some colouring for homework, but all of the exciting developments had distracted her. Since Faith was her second younger sibling, she knew all about how big of a deal potty training was. She had been waiting to make a big deal out of this for her sister.

"She did," Callie smiled. "And we decided something?"

"That I get a piñata?" she wondered. "At our party?"

"No, that Faith gets to go to preschool one day."

"After our party or before?" she asked.

"After, Sof," Arizona said. "And yes, you can have a piñata."

"Yay!"

Callie looked at her wife. She loved the fact that they could now see far enough into the future to make some actual plans for Faith. She loved that their second miracle baby would get to be a "normal" preschooler. Was her wife really happy with all of the planning, though?

"What?" Arizona asked.

"You know I wouldn't even consider it if she wasn't going to do just fine, right?" she asked.

"A piñata?" Sofia asked.

"No, Faith's school."

"Faith's smart," she said. "For a little kid."

"She is," Arizona agreed. "And I'm going to be the insane mom who asks a million questions before we choose a preschool. Maybe the one Sof went to isn't the one for Faith."

"Okay," Callie nodded.

"But this is exciting," Arizona said.

"Faith pee!" Faith cheered.

"We know!" Arizona laughed. "We're so proud!"

"Good?"

"It's _really_ good," Callie said.


	36. Party Day

Squeals of delight came from Faith's room three weeks later. It was party day today and her parents and grandparents were trying to make every part of it extra special. While the girls were asleep last night, they had filled their rooms with multi-coloured balloons to surprise them when they awoke. As usual, Sofia was up to discover this long before her sister. She had already enjoyed them, but now she lit up as she realized that she would get to experience her sister's happiness as well.

By the time that everyone made it up the stairs to her bedroom, Faith had slid out of the foot of the bed – avoiding her safety railing at the side– and made it into the hallway.

"Fun is dare!" she told her family. "Pity stuff!" she added, pointing to the room. "Yay!"

"Fun is in there?" Arizona asked. "Balloons?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Do you want to go play with the balloons?" Callie asked. "You can go play with them."

"Pease?" she asked.

"They're for you!" Grandma told her. "Go ahead!"

Faith began playing with her surprise. On a typical morning, she certainly wasn't full of energy but today was the exception. She was loving all of the excitement of this morning as she watched the balloons float up and down as they kicked and tossed them into the air together.

"How did these get here, Baby?" Arizona asked.

"No know," she answered.

"You don't know?" Grandpa replied. "Is it fun, though?"

She laughed as a balloon came down and gently bounced off of her head. It was amazing how much joy could come from such a simple surprise. The toddler was loving this. Sofia had too, but there was something extra perfect about Faith's reaction.

"If you're having this much fun now, wait until the party," Abuelo smiled. "You'll love that, right?"

"Fo' Faith?" she asked.

"It's a party for both of us, Faith," Sofia explained. "'Member because I never got a good birthday party and you got a new heart?"

"Oh."

"Now we need a party, right?" Arizona asked, giving Faith a kiss. "We've been through a lot. We need to celebrate our special babies."

"I'm not a baby," Sofia said.

"Are we your moms?" Callie asked.

"Yeah."

"Then we get to call you our babies as long as we want."

"Not when I go to second grade," Sofia said. "In second grade, we do hard work. We have to study for our spelling tests. Our teacher doesn't help us."

"So that makes you not our baby?" she laughed.

"Babies don't do hard work. Faith does 'what colour is this one?' That's easy."

"It's easy for you," Grandpa explained. "Faith's younger."

"It's easy for Faith, too," she said. "She does good at that."

"You're both so smart, huh?" Callie smiled.

Faith put a little too much effort into kicking a balloon into the air and landed on her bottom. Her diaper padded the fall, so she just began giggling.

"Oops!" Arizona replied.

Faith laid back and let the rest of the airborne balloons land on her.

"Uh oh!" Abuelo exclaimed. "Where'd Faith go?" he asked, pretending that she was buried in them.

She popped up. "Hi!"

* * *

All of the party excitement began to backfire a little later on that day. It was lunchtime – just before the party – and Faith was refusing to touch her lunch. They had "hidden" vegetables inside of her homemade macaroni and cheese dish, and she had discovered them. Instead, she kept asking for some of the snack foods that they were putting out for the party.

"Did you eat your macaroni yet?" Arizona asked.

"No," she replied.

"Then you may not have snacks," she replied. "Please try it, Faith. Sister ate it."

"I picked out the vegetables," Sofia said.

"Yeah, well at least you ate," Callie explained. "You should have tried the vegetables, but you will next time, right?"

"Next time I'll be at Daddy's," she said. "At his house, we don't have veggies in the mac 'n' cheese."

"They make it healthier for Faith," Arizona explained. "In theory. When she eats."

"Oh."

"When you and your brother were younger, we didn't force you to eat. You ate if you were hungry, and if not, you survived until the next meal. She'll eat when she's hungry enough," Grandpa said.

"If only it was that simple," Arizona replied.

She did agree with her father's logic. Faith wasn't going to starve herself. If she was hungry enough, she would try the food. However, with the medications she was on, she needed to have food in her stomach shortly after taking them. Therefore, waiting for her to decide to eat wasn't really a choice. Sure, they could let her eat the snacks, but they also had to make sure to enforce healthy eating with her. She would need to eat well for the rest of her life if she wanted her donor heart to stay healthy.

"It's not like we need her to clean her plate," Callie said. "We need her to eat some of it. I wouldn't say we're forcing her to eat. I mean, its macaroni. It's pretty kid friendly."

They went about their party prep again, trying to ignore Faith's requests to be finished and to have snacks. They didn't want to pay too much attention to her refusal to eat, since it wasn't something they encouraged.

Abuelo started feeding her. Of course, they were happy that she was finally taking a few bites, but they didn't love the fact that she wasn't feeding herself at two-and-a-half. Sometimes people – and even themselves if they were honest – tended to give in to Faith more often because of all that she had been through.

"Dad, she's two-and-a-half," Callie said. "We're not spoon-feeding our two-and-a-half year old."

"Yep," Faith grinned.

"No," she told her. "You're big now. Eat at least two bites, please. Then we can get your party dress on."

"Pity?" she asked.

"I'm sure you'll look so pretty," Grandma told her.

* * *

"Faith Evelyn, come stand next to Sofia, please," Arizona said with her camera in hand.

When they went to pick out party dresses, Faith had attached herself to a miniature version of the one that her sister had selected. Typically, Sofia wouldn't allow this and they would simply talk Faith into choosing something else. By the time they left, the toddler was usually satisfied all over again. For now, it was fairly easy to convince her that something else was even more gorgeous. However, this time Sofia decided that it was okay because Faith was so happy.

Faith walked over to a box of dress up clothing. She pulled out a green tutu. Clearly, she wanted to add it to her attire for the party.

"Pease?" she asked, handing it to Callie.

"How about we pick a pink one that matches your dress?" she asked.

Personally, she thought the tutu was a bit much when paired with the sparkly dress and the sparkly shoes, but the party was for her daughters and Faith wanted to wear it. She wasn't going to discourage this choice completely.

"She has the white one with the pink hearts," Sofia suggested.

Callie got it out and put it on Faith. She practically squealed with excitement as she looked down at it.

"Is it perfect for the party?" Grandpa asked.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Come take a picture, Baby," Arizona encouraged. "I want a picture of our gorgeous girls."

"Pity gils," she said, mispronouncing it as she stood beside her sister.

"How did we get such a great family?" Arizona asked as she took the picture.

"Ummm...Faith."

"Because we got Faith?" Callie asked. "You're right! Our family wouldn't be the same without Faith!"

"And 'cause I'm bigger so I teach her stuff," Sofia added.

"Yep!"

* * *

The kids were having so much fun at the party. They had already played various games and had a little dance party. Now everyone was excited as they tried to break open the piñata. Of course, because most of them were Sofia's little friends, they didn't exactly have very much strength. The piñata wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, but as long as it was still fun, that was okay.

"Can Faith have a turn?" Callie asked Sofia.

The little sister had been pretty content just to watch, but they wanted to give her a chance to get in on the action, too. The idea for this party may have originally been to make up for the fact that they didn't give Sofia a proper birthday bash, but it had also become about celebrating Faith's successful transplant, too. They didn't want to leave her out.

"She doesn't know how," Sofia said.

"A two-year-old hitting something?" Mark laughed. "Somehow I think she'll catch on."

Sofia handed Callie one of the pink sticks that they had been using to take turns hitting the piñata and Callie boosted Faith up a tad so that she would be able to reach it. She handed her the stick.

"Hit that, Faith," Sofia told her. "Hit it!"

When Faith swung at it twice and it still wasn't any closer to breaking, Sofia gave up. She and her friends just wanted the candy already.

"Piñata's are boring," she complained.

Lexie laughed. "Sofia, this is all we've been hearing about."

"Do you want us to just break it?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah," she nodded.

Mark took the piñata down, opened it up, and spilled it_s_ sugary contents out. All of the children went diving into the pile of candy, in a rush to collect as much as they could. However, one child wasn't so pleased with this development. When Callie had put her down, Faith had gone to get some candy as well, but she hadn't managed to grab any yet. All of the other children – even Maxwell – were so much bigger and faster than she was. She went over to Carlos with tears in her eyes.

"We'll get you some," he promised as he picked her up. "All of the big kids got it first, huh?"

"Yeah."

"It's okay," he said. "Abuelo'll get some just for you."

Sofia noticed that her sister was upset as the pile of candy started to dwindle down. She came over and handed Faith a handful of treats.

"Here, Faith," she said. "Don't cry at our party, okay?"

Sofia's sisterly generosity never ceased to amaze her parents. Sure, just like any child, she wasn't always the most caring, but she did have a very generous, loving side to her as well.

"Thanks, Sof," Callie said.

"We have more in the house," she said. "But Faith wants this candy."

"You're so mature," Grandma praised.

"What's that?"

"Kind of like big," Lexie explained.

"Oh."

Maxwell came over and handed his buddy a lollipop. It turned out to be a flavour that he was far from fond of, but it was still a nice gesture.

"Oh, Max shared too," Arizona smiled. "What do you say to Sister and Max?"

"Tanks," Faith smiled. "Faith yummy."

"Now you have yummy stuff?" Abuelo asked. "Are you happy now?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Daniel replied.

"Do you girls want presents now?" Arizona asked.

Sofia had obviously already opened birthday presents since her actual birthday was months ago. However, they didn't want to have a party for the girls without getting them gifts. Therefore, each girl was getting something today as well.

"We get presents?" Sofia asked. "Really?"

"What kind of party would it be without presents?" Callie asked. "Of course you get presents!"

* * *

Most of the party guests had gone home hours ago, but now that it was dark they were letting Sofia enjoy the "fireworks" that she had requested. They weren't actually allowed to set fireworks off in their area, so she had to settle for a few sparklers, but she was still pretty happy with this.

Arizona passed a sleeping Faith over to her wife. The little lady had cupcake icing all over her face and she was still clutching the pretend spatula that had come with her new kitchen set in her hand.

"Why aren't we just putting her to bed?" Callie whispered.

"I tried that. She woke up as soon as I walked into the house and insisted that she go back outside to see Sof's 'fiwes'"

"I guess that was supposed to be 'fires?'" she smiled.

"I think so," she laughed.

"Max, Max, Max!" Lexie exclaimed as her son attempted to help himself to one of the sparklers.

While the sticks were long and he probably could keep his little fingers away from the spark part, they still didn't think he actually would. He didn't like following rules, so they had to tell him that this wasn't allowed for his own safety. Mark had helped him to hold one, which had only given him the idea that he could do it all by himself.

"No!" he complained as she took it from him.

"Do you know how to be safe with this?" she asked. "Sofia's being safe. She's seven and the thought of her holding something on fire still isn't my favourite, but she's safe with it. You are not, since you didn't even ask first. If you want one, somebody has to help you hold it."

"Too bad Faith's sleepin'," Sofia said. "She'd like this."

"She's way too little, Sof," Callie said. "She wouldn't get one."

"When she's bigger, she needs to."

"You've decided, huh?" Mark smiled.

"It's really fun," she smiled.

"Was this a good party?" Arizona wondered.

"I loved it."

"Good."

"Did Faith?"

"I think so," Callie said. "She's just sleepy."

"Because she got a new heart," she said. "And because she's little."

"Right."

"But I like when Faith has fun because she doesn't get to have fun sometimes."

"Hopefully now that she has a new heart, she'll have a lot more fun days," Grandma said.

"I hope so," Arizona agreed.

Faith woke up again.

"Well, hi," Callie smiled, giving her a kiss. "You're really trying not to miss this, huh?"

She nodded.

"We'll head inside soon," Arizona said. "We'll put jammies on and read a book."

"Do I gotta read Faith's potty book again?" Sofia asked.

Now that she was working on potty training, a toddler-friendly book all about it had become a favourite of hers. Unfortunately, she always wanted Sofia to read it to her and the big sister was less than thrilled by it.

"You can pick a new one," Callie said, assuming Faith would fall back asleep before the book was read anyway.

"Good," she said. "'Cause it's about going pee."

Maxwell giggled.


	37. School

"School?" Faith asked as Callie lifted her into her booster seat at the breakfast table one fall morning.

While Faith wasn't quite three-years-old yet, they had decided to enroll her in a preschool now instead of waiting until she actually turned three. It seemed to make much more sense for their family. Sofia would be going back to school tomorrow. Therefore, the family would have to settle into a different routine again. They didn't want to have to change it in just a few months in order to have Faith begin preschool then. She had come a long with potty training and many other milestones, so they felt like she was ready now anyway.

"Tomorrow," Callie promised. "Today, Emily's coming."

Emily had found a new job – and Callie and Arizona had found two new babysitters – but she still helped out when she could. She had gotten to know the girls and she didn't want to just stop seeing them. She stayed with them for a few hours a week, mostly on days like today where one mothers shift ended as the other one's started.

"Yeah," she smiled.

"If you knew that, then why'd you ask?" Callie laughed as she prepared Faith's medication.

"She just thinks it's cool when we talk about preschool," Sofia said.

"Are you excited for second grade?" she asked her.

"My friends who went to second grade last year say it's really hard," she said.

"Well, it's a good thing you're smart then," Callie told her.

"Maday...?" Faith asked.

"Yes?" Callie replied.

"Faith smart?" she asked. "Yes, Maday?"

"You're both so smart," she told her, giving her a sympathetic smooch before she had to give her her morning medicine. "You ready?"

"No," she said. "Yuckies. No."

"Can you be brave for me and just take it?" she asked. "Then we'll eat toast and yogurt for our breakfast, 'kay?"

Faith complied. She didn't have much choice, she had realized. She was never pleased that she had to take her medication, but she rarely put up too much of a fight anymore. It just wasn't worth it. The most they would get now were a few tears.

"Good job," Callie smiled as Faith opened her mouth so that she could squirt the liquid inside. "Can you swallow, please?"

"No want dat," she told her once it was down.

"That?" she asked. "You don't want that? I know. I'm sorry, Faith."

"How much longer 'til Faith doesn't have to get medicine anymore?" Sofia asked.

Even though they had tried to explain Faith's condition to both of their girls – obviously using age-appropriate explanations for each of them – Sofia still got confused at times. When she was taking medicine, she always got to stop taking it at some point. Faith had been on hers for a long time and she was doing so much better. Did this mean that her little sister's least favourite thing would soon end?

"She has to get it forever, Sof," Callie explained. "It helps her new heart want to stay in her body and be healthy."

"If she doesn't take it, her heart will be broken again?" she asked. "I don't want that."

"No," Faith agreed.

"I agree," Callie nodded. "Hopefully the medicine works."

"Chart?" Faith questioned.

"You want to put a sticker on the sticker chart?" Callie asked, as she served breakfast. "Eat first, okay? You'll get your sticker."

In the last few weeks, Faith had really started to take interest in this reward system. She knew exactly what it took to earn stickers and she was becoming very good at making sure to remind her parents.

"Mommy lets her pick right away," Sofia said.

"Well, Mommy's at work and we got a late start to our morning," Callie said. "I need you to eat."

"'You were a sleepy head this morning."

"When Mommy's here, it's easier to wake up," Callie said.

"Because she's pretty?" Sofia smiled. "And you love her?"

"Well, yeah," she nodded. "But also because I know that getting you both to get dressed and fed while I get dressed and fed by myself is sometimes and uphill battle."

"Why?" Faith asked.

"Why is it hard?" she replied as she finally sat down to start eating. "Because there are two of you and one of me. It's easier with Mommy's help."

"Why?"

"Because she can do Sofia's hair while I help you get dressed or something. We can do two things at once."

"Why?"

"Because we're two people."

"Why?"

"Why do you keep asking why?" she asked.

She laughed.

"Mommy's been at work a long time," Sofia said. "She's gonna be sleepy when she gets home."

Arizona had just worked a double shift overnight. The girls hadn't seen her since just before dinner. There were a few very critical patients in her care right now and she had been doing everything she could to help them.

"I know," Callie nodded. "And I'll be at work and Emily'll have to go to her other job, so can you please obey Mommy today?"

"Yep," Faith agreed, chewing on a bite of her toast.

"I always do," Sofia added.

"Always, huh?"

"Yep."

"What about yesterday afternoon?"

"I was cooking Faith a snack."

"There was peanut butter all over the kitchen," she said.

"Faith and Hershey licked it away."

"Exactly," she said.

"Maday," Faith smiled.

"What?"

"Faith go school!"

"When?"

"'Morrow!"

* * *

"How is he?" Callie asked when she got to work an hour later.

Arizona was standing outside of the room of one of the little boys that she had been worried about. The six-year-old had undergone surgery to treat a seizure disorder three days ago. The seizures were not nearly as frequent now, but he had not been very responsive since the operation and she and Derek were both concerned that he wasn't healing as they had hoped he would.

"He opened his eyes and followed his mom's voice for a few minutes," Arizona said. "Derek's run some more tests and he can't find any damage caused by the surgery, so..."

"He could just be taking his time," she finished.

"I hope."

"Every step is better than nothing at all."

"True."

"The girls can't wait to spend the day with you," she smiled. "And Faith's practically out of her mind with excitement because she gets to go to preschool tomorrow."

Arizona laughed. "Yesterday, she asked me three different times if she could pick out an outfit to wear to school. She heard Sofia ask and she thought it sounded fun. So we ended up picking three different outfits. I asked her how she planned to wear so many clothes and she said she'd be 'bootful' in everything. I almost don't want to have to break it to her that she can only wear one of them."

"Preschool, Arizona," Callie said after a few beats of silence. "Preschool. There was a time when we thought we might not get her at all. I know we both tried to force hopeful words out of our mouths, but there was still so much fear there. We didn't know for sure that she'd make it here, or through the first surgery. Or any of it after that. And tomorrow she's starting preschool. We can't really ever stop worrying because we're her mamas, but still. She's just...she gets to be a kid."

"Yep," she smiled. "She's perfect. Just like Sofia."

"And the best part is that she's not even fazed by any of it. She's too young to really understand the magnitude of just how unbelievably huge it is that she's here. She's just excited about her first ever big girl backpack and her school clothes."

"Just like any kid should be."

"Uh huh," she nodded.

"Thanks."

"For?"

"Reminding me," she said. "Today, I needed a reminder of why I do this. Why I stand here outside of sick kid's hospital rooms just wishing they'll still be...them at some point. I do it because sometimes it actually happens."

"You needed the reminder of that?"

"No, but hearing the actual words instead of just thinking about it helps."

Callie kissed her. "You're the best surgeon this kid could have," she told her. "But for now, you need to go home. Our girls are waiting for you and you'll lose your mind if you stand here all day."

"See you tonight," she said. "The girls don't need anything else for school, do they?"

"Text Mark and ask. Sofia said he bought her new shoes, but she might just want to wear those ridiculous light-up ones with the holes in them still. I asked her to show me said new shoes and she conveniently changed the subject."

"She asked me for a pair of these last week," Arizona said, referring to her own unique footwear choice.

"You've created a monster," Callie said.

"I said no," she clarified. "At least for at school. I don't think they'll help enforce the 'no running in the halls' lesson her teacher said she ignored last year."

"But you'll get her a pair for outside of school."

"She's my kid!"

Callie gave her one more kiss, this one truly a goodbye one since her pager beeped.

"You're insane."

"And you love it."

* * *

Callie entered the house as quietly as possible when she got home that night. Arizona had texted her saying that she was going to try and settle the kids down early so that they would be well rested for their days tomorrow.

Hershey greeted her as usual, but even her welcome wasn't a loud one this time.

"Hey, Hersh," she smiled, giving her a rub. "Are the girls in bed?"

No one was in the kitchen or the living room, so she thought that maybe Arizona had gotten her wish. She heated herself up a plate of the chicken dish that her wife had made for dinner and brought it upstairs with her, planning to eat it in bed as she and Arizona discussed their days. She had asked Derek about that one particular little boy and she wanted to pass along an update about him, since she knew that Arizona was worried.

Their bedroom was empty as well. Faith's door was open a crack and the lights were off with the exception of the rainbow night light she needed on. Callie tip-toed in, with the dog following after her because of the dinner she had, and kissed her daughter's head softly.

It was then that Faith stirred a little and her hand reached out to wrap around what Callie realized was her schoolbag.

"Did you need to sleep with your backpack tonight?" she laughed. "You can't wait for tomorrow, huh?"

"It 'morrow?" she asked. "Now 'morrow?"

"It's still time to sleep," she said. "Madre's gonna go see what Mommy and Sof are up to. Then I'm gonna eat and go to bed, too. I had a big day today. I fixed a lot of bones."

"Ew."

"Ew?" she asked. "What's wrong with bones?"

She yawned as Hershey let out a small noise, just to remind Madre that she would still like a little snack.

"Oh, Hershey..." Callie replied. "Faith, what are we gonna do with that puppy?"

"Nigh night," she said.

"You'll just go night night?" she asked, giving her one more kiss. "See you in the morning."

With that, Callie went into Sofia's room with the dog still staying right with her.

"Hershey, that's not dog food," she said as she sat on her bed while Mom braided her hair.

Callie finally tossed a piece of potato to the floor.

"Everybody needs a little treat every now and then, right?" she rationalized. "There you go."

"How was work?" Arizona asked.

"I don't know what was going on, but I think half of Seattle broke something today," she answered. "They just kept coming in."

"Oh."

"I asked Shepherd about Josh before I left," she told her. "He kept opening his eyes and following the sounds of people's voices all day today."

"Good," she said.

"Who's Josh?" Sofia wondered.

"A patient of mine who just had to get surgery on his brain."

"Does he have a big headache?" Sofia wondered.

"We gave him medicine for that," she assured her.

"You're good at your job, I think."

"Thank you."

"Madre, tomorrow I'm going to take out my braids and my hair will have pretty waves," Sofia explained.

"You'll look great," Callie smiled.

"Mommy said I can't wear my light up shoes, though," she complained.

"You can wear the other purple shoes," Arizona told her. "Aren't those good?"

"Fine."

* * *

They dropped Sofia off at her school first. Faith didn't like this very much, since they had hyped up this new school of hers so much, but she had to wait so long to get there. By the time they did arrive, she was practically leaping out of her carseat.

"Patience, please," Callie told her.

She was fully capable of undoing her own straps, but they didn't let her. They never wanted it to seem fun to her. After the events surrounding Sofia's birth, they were always stressing how important it was to be safe in the car to their children.

"Faith here?" she questioned. "Here?"

"You're here!" she said as she got her out of the car.

"Hold your own bag, Big Lady," Arizona told her, handing her the pink backpack.

"Okay, Mama," she said.

They made their way in and showed Faith where her classroom would be. Due to their daughter's extra needs, they had had a few meetings at the preschool already, but unfortunately, they had been unable to meet with her actual teacher yet.

"What's your name?" the teacher asked when they walked in.

"Faith," she answered.

They were a little surprised that she hadn't been shy at all, but the woman did give off a very friendly vibe. Faith must have known that she was okay to talk to.

"And what's your last name?" Callie prompted.

They had been working on this and Faith knew what it was. However, she never said it in combination with her first name without being asked to do so.

"Faith Tooorres," she said, stressing the 'o' sound a bit.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," the teacher smiled, shaking her new student's little hand. "I'm Miss A."

"A.?" Faith asked.

"My names a little tricky, so you can just call me 'Miss A.' Does that sound good?"

"Yous name?" Faith asked.

She smiled. "My whole name's Miss Athena," she explained. "Can you say that?"

"A.," Faith decided, since her not quite three-year-old self wasn't too sure.

"Miss A.," Arizona said. "That's polite. Okay?"

"Miss A.," Faith nodded.

"You've got it," Miss Athena smiled. "Are we going to have fun in our class this year?"

"Faith go school!" she told her, her eyes growing wide as she looked around the room.

She was the first child there so far and she was clearly excited to have the space all to herself.

"I love it when my students are so excited to come to preschool," she told her.

"Faith go pay?" she asked.

"Pllllay, Faith," Callie said. "We need to work on how we say our words."

Plllay," Faith mimicked.

"Good."

"First you need to hang up your backpack in your cubby when you come to school," Miss Athena told her. "And then you may go play, yes. And after you find your cubby, I was wondering if I could talk to your moms about your heart? I have some questions."

They smiled. They knew that the teacher had been told of Faith's needs, but the fact that she wanted to clarify things really put them at ease.

"Sure," Arizona said. "I'm Arizona, by the way. You and Faith kind of hit it off and we didn't even introduce ourselves. This is my wife, Calliope."

"Everyone else calls me Callie," the Latina laughed. "Callie's fine."

"Maday," Faith said.

"Or Madre," she agreed.

"Is that what she calls you?" the teacher asked.

"I'm Mommy, she's Madre," Arizona explained.

"Yep," Faith said.

They helped Faith to find her cubby and put her bag away. However, when she realized that Mommy and Madre were not playing, she didn't want to either.

"Do you need a few more minutes with your moms?" Miss Athena asked as Callie signed Faith in. "For the first few days, that's pretty normal. You can stay here while we talk about you."

"That's one of Faith's favourite subjects, huh?" Callie teased.

"I read the notes about her med. schedule and I've given other children medications before, so I'm sure I can take care of that," Miss Athena said. "But does she have any limitations in terms of activities she can do or anything?"

"She's still recovering," Callie said. "Her transplant was in March, so she's not quite one hundred percent just yet. She may never be the most active kid. We don't know. Take your cues from her. If she seems tired, maybe encourage a quiet activity. She's two, so that might not work, but try."

"Right," she smiled.

"She doesn't experience anymore pain or anything," Arizona explained. "So it's mainly just about taking your cues from her and making sure she always gets the meds. If she doesn't regularly get them, her heart may start to fail."

"And how is she about taking them?"

"Yuckies," Faith told her. "Ew."

"She usually doesn't give us much trouble. Just be firm with her and insist that she swallow, or she might spit some out and not get the correct dose," Callie replied.

"Okay," Miss Athena nodded. "We can do that, right Faith?"

"This is as easy as taking care of her is going to get, so hopefully," Arizona said.

"If we weren't sure that we could handle her needs, we'd let you know," the teacher promised. "She'll be fine."

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"Are you going to have a good day?" Callie asked her. "Give us kisses."

Another little girl and her dad walked into the room just then. Faith quickly kissed her mothers before she ran off to go snatch up a toy she had been eying before the other girl could. Now that she wasn't alone with Miss Athena, she felt the need to be rather speedy about this.

"At least she's not having a hard time with you leaving," Miss Athena pointed out.

"Good point," Arizona said.

"She'll learn to share," she told them. "Trust me."

"Hi," the other girl smiled at the teacher.

"Hi, I'm Miss A. What's your name?"

"Lily," the little girl, who seemed to be maybe a few months older than Faith, said. "Who you?" she asked Callie and Arizona.

"We're Callie and Arizona," Callie introduced them. "We're Faith's moms. That's Faith over there."

"Hi," Lily said, too softly for Faith to hear, but in that direction nonetheless.

"Faith, this is Lily," Miss Athena said. "Can you say 'hi?'"

Faith waved.

"How about with your words?"

The two wives looked at each other. Preschool with Miss Athena was going to be great for their girl. Of course, it wasn't easy to leave their baby on her first day, but they were fairly sure that it would be a successful one.


	38. Something's Up

"Karev, the E.R. just called up," Arizona told Alex. "There is a sixteen-month-old epileptic who fell when his last seizure started. He's unresponsive and they're five minutes out."

"I'm on it," he said.

"Thank you," she replied as she headed into the room of one of her patients.

"What happened last night?" a nurse, who was in the room asked. "We've admitted eight kids in the last two hours."

"No idea," she answered. "Where are his parents?" she asked of the now sleeping boy in the hospital bed.

"Coffee run," she said. "They'll be back."

She yawned. "Coffee would be so good right about now."

It was seven in the morning and she hadn't been home in twenty-four hours. She was supposed to be leaving soon, but they needed the extra set of hands on the floor so that wasn't going to happen. Instead, she was bouncing from sick kid to even sicker kid, just trying to stay alert.

The two-year-old patient awoke as he heard the sound of her yawn.

"Did I wake you up?" she smiled, as she looked at his chart. "Good news, though. It looks like you can go home today."

"Home?"

"Yep! You've been keeping down food, your chest doesn't hurt anymore, you're doing so much better. Mommy and Daddy are just downstairs, but we'll let them know as soon as they come back up."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Now," she smiled. "On to the _really _important stuff. What are you going to be for Halloween next week? Do you know what costume Mom got you?"

"Dino!" he giggled.

"A dinosaur?" she asked. "Awesome! I'll be back when Mom and Dad get back, okay? Should I put your T.V. on? I bet you like Dora and Diego, don't you? They're a big hit in my house. My littlest girl watches them sometimes."

Usually she would take the time to read a book or play with her patients if they woke up and their parents weren't around. However, she simply didn't have the time right now. Putting on the T.V. was better than nothing, she assumed.

"Yeah," he smiled.

"See you in a bit," she told him just before leaving the room.

"Well, long time no see," a familiar voice – Dr. Brady's – said when he saw her.

Typically he saw Faith every month. They usually never missed a single appointment because making sure that Faith and her transplanted heart were still doing well was obviously of extreme importance to them. However, they had had to cancel Faith's last appointment two weeks ago.

"Yeah," she said. "Calliope was supposed to take her, but she was vomiting all day that day and I couldn't get out of surgeries and meetings that day. As far as we can tell, she's still doing the same. And we'll see you tomorrow afternoon for her next appointment."

"Good," he said.

"Yep," she nodded. "And she's taken an interest in a pretend medical kit that she found last week. We were planning to save it for a birthday or Christmas gift, but she saw it and we had to open it up. So, maybe, just maybe, tomorrow's appointment will go a little easier."

"She's not even very difficult," he assured her.

"I know, but I'm her mom and it's tough."

"I know."

"Lucas Rhodes' room is this one right here," she smiled. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem," he said. "But before we go in there, I want to ask you something."

Her pager sounded.

"What?"

"It...I guess it can wait. Go ahead, Arizona."

"Oh, okay."

* * *

Callie found her wife in an on-call room that afternoon. Arizona still hadn't been able to head home, but things on the Peds. ward had settled some. She was at least able to get a few hours of sleep.

"What? Did every kid in Seattle need surgery?" she asked as she handed her a cup of coffee.

"I have no idea why so many tiny humans were against me seeing my own tiny humans this morning."

"I don't think they plotted against you," she told her.

"I'm so tired that it feels like it," she explained.

Callie kissed her before taking out her phone to show her a picture that she had taken this morning. Sofia and Faith had tried on their Halloween costumes yesterday. Faith was originally supposed to be a ladybug, but that costume wasn't the one that she was wearing in the photo.

"Halloween costume," she smiled.

"What is this?" she asked.

"The ladybug was too big," she said. "Our girl may have gained weight since the transplant, but she's still really small."

"So she's what?" she wondered. "Me for Halloween?"

"Exactly," Callie said. "We went back to the store and I tried to talk her into being a...well, I don't really know what that was. Some kind of orange and green bug. She wasn't buying it."

"Because it was probably lame."

"There are no costumes left this close to Halloween," she defended. "But I remembered that I'd seen a little boy in the dress-up center at the preschool wearing little scrubs. So, I asked if we could possibly borrow them this morning. I told her and she said she wanted to be a 'docker' before I could leave. So I dressed her up and took that."

"Sounds good."

"I'm going to sew her a little lab coat and I promised we could put a ladybug sticker on her stethoscope, since she can't wear the ladybug costume."

"And we should probably teach her that it's 'doctor,' not 'docker.'"

"That might be good, too," she laughed. "When are you finally going to get out of here?"

Arizona's pager went off just as she said this, as if Callie's question had caused a patient to need her.

"Not now," she replied, getting up and taking a big sip of coffee.

"You've been working a lot of long shifts," she said. "Not that I haven't been, but we miss you at home."

"Halloween's coming up," she replied. "Most of the Peds. Attendings have kids. I made a deal with one of the ones who doesn't that if I took a few of his patients and worked a few of his shifts, then he'd work Halloween so that I can be with the kids."

"At this rate, by the time Halloween comes all you'll want is sleep."

She laughed. "I'll be home tonight. Promise."

"Good."

* * *

"Faith wisten, Mama?" she asked as she played with her pretend stethoscope.

"You want to listen to my heart, Dr. Faith?" she smiled.

Madre was working on making dinner and both of the girls were trying to get some much needed time with Arizona. Sofia had even misspelled "happy" four different times while doing her spelling homework, just so that she could have more of her mom's attention. Little did she know, Arizona wanted her attention just as much. The homework had nothing to do with it.

"Yes," she said.

"Take a listen," she nodded.

Faith placed the stethoscope onto her forehead.

"That's not how it goes, Faith," Sofia said.

"Let her play," Arizona told her. "Do you need to listen to my brain, Dr. Faith?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Good."

"It sounds good?"

"Brains don't make a sound," Sofia protested.

"She's pretending," Callie said. "Let her. Maybe it'll make her less nervous to go see the doctor tomorrow."

"Speaking of that," Arizona told her wife. "Brady said he had to talk to me today, but we didn't get the chance. By his tone it seemed...personal."

"Well, he hasn't seen Faith yet this month, so..."

"Does Faith need a new heart again?" Sofia asked.

"We don't think so," Arizona smiled.

"Ooo, maybe he's working on some clinical trial for H.L.H.S.," Callie smiled. "Maybe he needs the best Peds. surgeon ever on it. And I mean, you'd be more motivated than most to find something that works."

"Two kids, a whole bunch of patients, and a clinical trial?" Arizona asked. "Does he think I'm Superwoman?"

"You kind of are," she smiled.

"Do you think that's it?" she asked. "Because something's going on. Something that was too big to tell me quickly. Something's up. For sure. And this little monkey is healthy and happy, so..."

"Could be," Callie nodded. "I mean, what else is it? I know I just kind of...came up with that. But still. What else could it be?"


	39. Opportunity

Faith was thrilled to have Mommy come pick her up from preschool just before lunchtime the next day. Arizona took this as a good sign. Maybe Faith wouldn't get nervous this time. Maybe the promise of a special Mommy and Faith lunch date afterwards would be enough to keep her happy.

Those thoughts lasted until they pulled into the parking lot. Faith clearly didn't want to go into the building.

"You can bring your doctor kit in with you," Arizona suggested since she had it in the car with them. "Maybe you can check Dr. Brady's heart. I bet he'd let you."

"No docker," she protested, as Mommy unbuckled her from the carseat and took her out of the car. "Pease no docker?"

"You know what I think?" she asked. "I think it's really important to check your new heart. Just a check. I promise. It'll be quick and then we can go get you a special treat for lunch."

She kept talking to her as they walked in, hoping it would ease her nerves. Truthfully, Arizona wasn't a fan of this place either. She would give anything to only have to take Faith to the normal Pediatrician appointments that all children went to. They didn't want to have to worry about anti-rejection medications or anything like that. Still, this was their reality and they wouldn't trade Faith Evelyn for anything.

"What special treat would you like with lunch?" she asked.

Faith was still on a special diet, so treats that most kids were used to were a big deal for her. They were a little more lenient these days, but they still wanted to make sure that they kept Faith's donor heart healthy.

"Ummm...some lunch," she answered.

"Some lunch and what for dessert? Something chocolate?" she asked, her own eyes growing wide as Faith's did.

"Yeah," she agreed. "For Faith, Mama?"

"You can pick something chocolate," she told her.

"Dat good," she replied.

"I know," she nodded.

"Sof wike dat," she said.

"She does. Maybe we can get her some chocolate, too. She's going to Mark and Lexie's tonight, but we can bring it to her. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

"Should we be nice friends and get some for Max, too? We don't want him to feel left out."

"Sharin'," she nodded.

"Kind of like sharing," she agreed. "Yes. You're getting so good at sharing now that you go to preschool, you know."

Socialization had been one of their concerns for Faith since she hadn't gone to daycare or anything until now. Sure, they did the best that they could to give her chances to interact with other children, but she had been ill so often that even play dates and trips to the park weren't always possible. However, now that Faith was in preschool, she was doing so well.

In fact, when they walked into Dr. Brady's office, there was another little girl around her age who she immediately approached.

"Introduce yourself," Mommy reminded her. "Tell her who you are."

"Faith," she smiled. "Hi. Who you?"

"Gemma," she said.

"You go docker?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"It's doctor, Sweet Girl," Arizona laughed. "Madre and I are doctors, remember?"

"Docker, Mama," she replied. "Yeah."

"Okay then," Arizona smiled. "Sure."

"You're a doctor?" Gemma's mom asked her.

"A Pediatric surgeon," she answered, extending her hand to shake the young brunette woman's hand. "Arizona."

"Rachel," she replied. "So, Dr. Brady must really be good then if you're a surgeon and your kid comes to him? It's our first time here. I've heard good things, but I had also heard good things about the first doctor I took her to and I didn't feel like he was listening to me. I've researched her condition and I had questions, but he didn't seem too interested in giving me proper answers."

"Dr. Brady's great," she nodded. "I think you'll be very happy with him. Granted, I've also worked with him. That might help the rapport my wife and I have with him, but he's been nothing short of fantastic with us."

"Now you're just sucking up," Dr. Brady joked as he walked into the waiting area.

"It's completely true," she said.

"No," Faith said as she and Gemma worked on a puzzle together.

"One day when you're big and you realize what Dr. Brady's done for us, you'll agree," Arizona told her.

"Oh," she said.

"Did you girls make friends?" the doctor asked the little ladies. "Faith, I've never seen you so happy in my office."

"Say 'I'm almost three now, so I'm a big brave girl,'" Arizona smiled.

"Tree?" she asked. "Faith two."

"You'll be three in a couple months," she told her.

"Faith two," she insisted.

"Correct."

* * *

The appointment with Dr. Brady was the same as usual. Faith's bravery wore down a little when she decided that she didn't really want the doctor to examine her, but they eventually talked her into it. Her blood pressure was a little higher than it had been for the last few months, but it wasn't alarmingly high by any means. They were just going to keep an eye on it for the next few visits. It could have very well been a fluke today.

"Buh bye," Faith said, getting down off of her mother's lap – where she had sat during the exam – when she knew it was over.

"Hold on, please," Arizona said. "Mama and Dr. Brady have to talk, I think. Would you like to play with a toy? I brought your doctor stuff. It's in my bag."

She helped herself to Mommy's bag – which Arizona was hoping she wouldn't do – and pulled out her cell phone instead of any toy.

"Faith say hi," she told her mom.

"You're going to say hi to somebody?" Arizona said. "I know you're actually capable of that and it scares me a little. How about we do that later?"

Faith started throwing a little tantrum – stomping her foot and crying even though there were no tears – when Arizona took the phone back.

"I'll let you call someone later," she promised. "Right now can you play with something that belongs to you? There's your doctor kit or a book in there. Which one do you want?"

"No!"

"Or you can sit there and pout," she said. "I still need to talk to Dr. Brady. Please? Just a few minutes, Faith."

"Apparently I'll make this quick after all," he said. "I didn't want to just spring something like this on you, so that's why I waited until today. I received a call from UNOS the other day asking me to ask you if you'd be open to establishing contact with the donor's family."

"Really?" she asked. "I've heard of living donors and their recipients getting in contact, and I've been involved in a few cases where a recipient wishes to contact a donor, but never where a donor family wants to contact the recipient."

"I've seen it a few times," he said. "Some say it helps with grieving. Most think it might hurt worse, but apparently, in this case, the donor family is up to it. If you're okay with it."

"We are," she decided, without even needing to ask her wife.

They had been so curious about the little hero who had given Faith their heart. If the family wanted contact with them, it was the least they could do. She honestly wasn't sure what they would say – other than thank you – but they were open to it.

"Okay," he said. "You know that UNOS has rules for this. To protect both sides."

"It feels weird to say that we need _protection _from somebody who did this for her, but yeah," Arizona nodded. "It has to start out with a series of letters that can only be sent through an UNOS coordinator."

"I'll let them know that you're okay with it," he said.

She started laughing.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just...I told Calliope you had something to talk to me about and we both got this crazy idea that you had some clinical trial for H.L.H.S. How we got that impression, I don't know. Wishful thinking, I guess."

"Nope," he laughed. "No clinical trial here. I just do the best I can with the knowledge we have."

"Go?" Faith asked. "Pease?"

"Well, you're much calmer," she said. "The people who gave you your heart want to write you a letter."

"For Faith?" she asked.

"For you," she said. "They want to know that you're doing well, I think."

"Yay!" she clapped for herself. "Go buh bye?"

"We're going," she told her. "Tell Dr. Brady thank you and buh bye."

Faith waved. She still wasn't fond enough of this guy to thank him, in her opinion.

"Bye, Faith," he smiled. "See you in a month."

* * *

"Choclit bar!" Faith exclaimed, mispronouncing a word, as Mommy opened the wrapping of the treat while they ate in the hospital cafeteria.

"Chocolate bar!" Arizona replied, giving it to her. "Delicious, right? Eat it up before it melts in your hands."

Faith pointed to the other four bars – one for Arizona, one for Callie, one for Sofia, and one for Maxwell – as if to tell her mom that she wanted those ones to be opened as well.

"Those aren't yours," she told her. "Remember we're going to share?"

"Oh, yeah," she replied as she took a bite of her own. "Yum!"

Lexie came over and sat with them. "Hi, Faith," she smiled. "Can I eat lunch with you?"

"Sof here?" she questioned.

"Sofia's at school," Arizona explained. "If she was here, wouldn't we eat with her, too?"

She giggled.

"Was that silly?" Lexie asked.

"Max here?" she wondered.

"Max is at school, too," she said.

Faith picked up the chocolate bars and handed them over. Arizona was actually quite impressed that she was so eager to share the candy that she had wanted to eat a minute ago.

"Those are for Sofia and Max, right?" Arizona asked Faith.

"Yeah," she said.

"I'll give them to them," Lexie told her. "Thank you. What are you doing here?"

"We have to tell Madre that the donor family wants to contact us," Arizona explained.

"Really?" Lexie replied. "I know you've wondered about the donor. Good. The opportunity this gives both you guys and the donor's family...it's good."

"Also nerve-wracking, but yes. Good."

Callie came over. She was trying not to be concerned as to why she had gotten a page from her wife saying that they had to talk. She figured that everything was fine with Faith, but she couldn't help but have a tiny bit of doubt once again. Arizona hadn't texted saying everything was fine. Those were the words she needed.

"Faith, how's that heart?" she asked.

"Her BP was higher than usual, but not by that much," Arizona said. "We'll keep an eye on it. Otherwise, everything's perfect."

"So, what did Brady want?" she wondered. "Are you going to save a whole bunch of babies with hypoplastic left hearts or what?"

Arizona smiled.

"We may have jumped to conclusions," she answered. "I felt very, very silly when I had to tell him that I thought he wanted me on a clinical trial."

"What did he really want?"

"The donor family wants to write us. I guess they want to know how Faith is."

"They want to contact us?"

"I said yes," she replied. "The least we can do is let them know that we're taking care of their kid's heart."

"True," she said. "But it's still crazy. What if they think we're not good parents or something? What if they don't think it was worth donating their kid's organs?"

"I don't think they'll think that," Lexie commented. "Wouldn't most bereaved parents want other people _not_ to have to suffer the way they do?"

"I hope."

"I read a study once that said contact with the recipient can be healing," she said. "It was page 345 of the American Journal of –"

"Okay, Lexipedia," Callie smiled. "Don't really need a page number."

"Right."

"Right," Faith repeated.

"I was kind of hoping for a clinical trial," Arizona admitted. "Is that bad?"

Ever since Callie had mentioned it, Arizona couldn't stop thinking of ways that changes could improve the surgical outcomes for patients with hearts like Faith had had. She didn't really have any ideas yet, but she felt inspired. At first it had seemed crazy that she would have time for all of that research and work, but now she felt like it may not be a bad idea.

"Wanting to save babies is good," Callie decided. "Oh, well. A clinical trial would probably be too much right now anyways. Maybe you were right," Callie said. "What are you two going to do after this?" she asked.

"Hopefully she'll nap," Arizona said. "And then I think we'll take Hershey for a walk."

"Yep," Faith nodded.

"Sounds fun," Callie smiled.

"Pup go fast," Faith commented. "Wub's so fast, Maday."

"Hershey goes fast on walks?" Callie asked. "Is she so excited?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Happy gil."

"She's a happy girl?" Lexie asked. "I think that's because she loves you."

"Yeah."

"And later, we'll call Grandma. I told her that she could call somebody," Arizona added.

"Gamma?" Faith asked. "Call Gamma?"

"Later."


	40. The Right Person For The Job

**This chapter might be on the shorter side, but I'm pretty sure you'll still enjoy it ;)**

* * *

"Mama?" Faith asked.

It was Halloween and Madre had picked her up from preschool and brought her to the hospital to trick-or-treat around the Peds. ward before the real thing began. Sure, it was actually for patients who could tolerate having a few sweets, but everyone there adored Faith. Plus, she had been a patient there for long enough.

Callie had told Sofia that Arizona would be one of the doctors handing out the candy, but the bubbly blond was nowhere to be seen.

"Go see Alex," Callie replied. "I bet he'll give you candy. Say 'trick-or-treat!'"

Faith walked up to her friend Alex. She was playing shy even though she obviously knew him well.

"Hi, Dr. Robbins!" he smiled, calling her that only because her tiny doctor costume made her look even more like a smaller version of Arizona than she usually did.

"Mama," she corrected, not finding him very amusing.

"Oh, that's Mom?" he asked. "Are you Dr. Torres?"

"Yep," she said, holding out her little hand. "Give candy, Alex."

Callie cleared her throat. Yes, Faith was thrilled by the fact that people were just giving out candy, but that was no excuse to be rude. They had practiced the whole "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" routine many times over the last couple of weeks. Faith knew what she was supposed to be saying instead of "give me candy."

"Pease," she smiled.

"Better," Madre told her. "But how about 'trick-or-treat?'"

"Tick-oh-tweat," she replied. "And tanks."

"Close enough," Alex said, pulling a lollipop out of the right side of his lab coat. "Here you go."

She took it from him, looked at it, and then handed it back.

"Open?" she asked.

"Manners, Faith Evelyn," Callie replied.

"Pease?" she asked.

Alex opened it and then gave it back. This particular one had a mild sour taste to it, so he couldn't help but laugh when Faith's face scrunched up in response.

"What do you think?" Callie asked. "Is it sour?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Do you still want it?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Where's your sister?" Alex questioned.

"She'll be here," Callie replied. "Mark's picking her up from school right now."

Faith spotted Lexie next. Looking for Mommy had fallen to the back of her mind now that people had begun to give out sweet things. Lexie wasn't expecting to be working up on the Peds. ward today, so she didn't have a stash of goodies with her. However, she did have her usual chocolate peanut butter cups. If they hadn't melted yet, she was going to give those to a few of the children.

"Lex!" the tiny Torres exclaimed when she saw her.

"Faith!" Lexie mimicked. "You act like you haven't seen me in years."

"She's hoping you have candy," Callie explained.

"Choclit," Faith specified.

"You know me well," Lexie smiled, taking a few of the mini treats out of her pocket. "You're in luck. What do you say?"

"Tick-or-tweat," she smiled as she spoke with the lollipop still in her mouth. "Tanks, Lex."

Lexie gave her the chocolates. "Happy Halloween!"

"Open dat?" she questioned.

"You're still working on the lollipop," Callie said. "We'll find something to keep the rest of your candies in for now."

"Oh."

"Are you practicing your trick-or-treating for tonight?" Lexie asked her.

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"I really, really hope I can go with you," she told her.

Every year since Maxwell's first Halloween, the entire clan had tried to go out together. They wanted Sofia to get to have a fun night with all of her siblings. Sometimes a parent or two had to work, but they tried their best to all come along.

"You might not be able to?" she asked.

"I have a patient who's been coding all day," she explained. "Max is going to kill me. All week he's been telling us both 'come to trick-or-treating' because he heard Mark say that he might have to work. Mark got out of it, but I might not now."

"He'll still have fun with us," Callie replied. "Right, Faith?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"I know, but still."

"I know. You've been looking forward to it."

"Yeah."

"Have you seen my wife?"

"She's been in the conference room for an hour," she replied.

"Conference room? She doesn't have a meeting. She knows the girls are coming."

"Faith gil," Faith added.

"Yes, you're a girl," she smiled. "Say 'bye' to Lexie and we'll go see what Mommy's doing."

"Work," she said.

"Well, yeah," she told her. "But I want to know what kind of work."

"Pity work."

"Pretty work?" Lexie laughed. "Is that what you think? Bye. Maybe I'll see you tonight. I love your costume!"

"Docker."

"You are a doctor. What kind of doctor? What do you like to fix? Hearts? Brains? Bones?"

"Faiths," she said. "And pup."

"Faiths and puppies?" Callie laughed. "You're also a vet? Whoa. You're extra talented. C'mon. Let's go tell Mommy."

"And bunny," Faith added as they walked away.

"And you fix bunnies?" Madre asked.

"What else?"

"And tutu, Maday."

"And tutus?" she replied. "Now I think you're just talking about things you like."

She giggled as they walked into the conference room. Callie was surprised when Arizona didn't automatically look up with one of her super magic smiles plastered on her face.

"Mommy?" she asked. "What are you...?"

"Ever since you brought up an H.L.H.S. trial, I can't stop thinking about it. And I know I don't have time. Time with our kids is precious as it is. I don't want to take away from that. I really don't. But I know H.L.H.S. all too well and I have the ability to do something to change it. Other parents would give anything to be in my position. They have to sit back and trust other doctors. We did, too. But what if I did something?"

"Like what?" Callie asked. "A trial, but how? What would you do differently?"

"No idea," she said, looking over various reports. "Not a clue."

"Arizona, you can't force a clinical trial. If you don't have an idea..."

"Do you remember that little boy Sebastian?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Karev put him on the donor list today."

"There's still hope."

"I know," she said. "But help me. How could we change this? I know I seem like a crazy person, but I have to make a difference. If you believe God gave us Faith for a reason, then this is it, right?"

"I think you're brilliant and capable of anything," she smiled. "If you want to do this, do it."

"Even if I'll be so busy that I might not see you or the girls some days?"

"We know where to find you," she said. "We'll make it work."

"Thank you," she said. "I'm going to consult with Teddy and Dr. Brady and see if they want to help out."

"Sounds good," she smiled. "But for tonight, can we trick-or-treat?"

"Sure," Arizona replied. "You've already started, huh Faith?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Sofia'll be here soon," Callie said. "Mark went to pick her and Max up."

"Okay," she nodded as she gathered her things.

"Did you feel like I didn't want you to do this?" Callie asked. "Come up with a trial?"

Callie had made comments about it being okay that that wasn't what Brady wanted because Arizona was a busy surgeon and mommy already. Now that she realized just how much her wife wanted to change hypoplastic heart syndrome as they knew it, she felt horrible for dismissing it so quickly.

"A little," she said. "But I didn't tell you what was going on in my head either."

"I'm on board," she said. "You're determined and if the girls and I have to camp out in this very room for months on end, we will."

"Will you?" Arizona asked, coming to pick up their daughter.

"No," Faith said.

"Thanks a lot!" she replied as she tickled her tummy. "Happy Halloween! I heard you were having cupcakes at school."

"Yep," she nodded. "Bats."

"They had bats on them?" she asked.

"Scary."

"They were just pretend, right?"

"Yep."

* * *

"Now, this is the real fun," Mark said as he opened up another beer and passed it over to his wife, who had managed to make it out in time to see the kids trick-or-treat at all but four of the houses.

Despite their sugar highs, all three kids were now fast asleep. It didn't take much for Faith to get tired still, so all of the walking alone had done her in. She was asleep just twenty minutes after they arrived home. The adults had watched the other two kids play a game that consisted of the couch being "safe ground" and the floor being "lava." Hopping around trying to avoid "dying" for the next hour and a half had, thankfully, done them in as well. They had tucked them in – making Maxwell a bed of blankets in Sofia's room – before starting their own little celebration.

"I can't remember the last time I had a drink to enjoy it as opposed to a drink that I _needed _because H.L.H.S. had messed with my kid."

"Same here," Callie replied. "But soon, H.L.H.S. will be cured. I know it."

"Hopefully," Lexie smiled.

"Arizona's going to work with Teddy and Brady and come up with something."

"We might need more cardio people on our side, though. I think that if Brady or Teddy already knew what to do, they'd have done it," Arizona considered.

"Preston Burke used to work with us," Mark said. "And Erica Hahn."

"I don't know that my ex is going to throw herself into saving kids with a condition that my kid was born with," Callie said.

"True."

"And I don't know that I want to work that closely with Calliope's ex, either," Arizona added. "I mean, we raise Sofia together, but that's different. We've worked that out."

"You get jealous of her exes?" Lexie asked.

"Who doesn't?" Callie asked. "At least a little bit."

"Okay, maybe," she admitted.

"Cut me off after this drink," Arizona told them. "Saving babies is hard even without a hangover."

"I can't wait until the Robbins Method is published," Callie smiled.

"No pressure."

"You'll do it," Lexie said. "And you're the right person for the job. That's for sure."


	41. All I Want For Christmas

**It is 5:46 in the morning. I tried to go to bed but this chapter would not let me. I could not get it out of my head. Enjoy, review, all of that good stuff. :)**

* * *

A month later, Arizona, Teddy, and Dr. Brady still were trying to come up with all of the details for their clinical trial. They were close, but Arizona wasn't ready to proceed just yet. She wanted to be as sure as possible about what they were going to do before they acted on it. Of course there was a considerable degree of uncertainty that they could not avoid – since it was called a trial after all – but it was not lost on Arizona that children just like one of her own would have their lives on the line. She had to do the best she could for them and anything less was unacceptable. Of course, Teddy and Dr. Brady felt the same way, but Arizona's determination was even stronger than theirs was.

She hadn't taken a full day off since Halloween and it was now December first. She had even spent most of Thanksgiving day – except for the dinner portion – at the hospital. If she fell behind in her regular surgeon duties, Owen was going to put a stop to the trial and she just could not let that happen. So many families didn't know it, but they were counting on her. The futures of so many children were in her hands.

However, Callie had made one simple request: that she take it easy this week, as well as the week of Christmas. Faith's third birthday was in a few days and then, of course, the whole family was looking forward to Christmas. Thanksgiving was one thing, but Callie did not want her wife to miss one minute of these two celebrations. Obviously, Arizona agreed. She was looking just as forward to all of the December fun as Callie and the kids were.

Today, Mommy was taking Sofia to pick out a birthday gift for her sister. Then, once that was done, all four of them were headed to the mall to see Santa Claus. This was the first year that Faith really had seemed to take interest in the whole Santa story, so they were hoping that it would be a great experience this time around.

"Mom, I have a question for you," Sofia said sounding very serious and mature for her age.

"What would that be?"

"Is Santa real?" she asked.

Even though she knew that her girls wouldn't believe in Santa forever, it still saddened Arizona that her seven-year-old had already figured it out. She was selfishly hoping for another year or two before this realization had to occur.

"What do you think?" she replied.

"If I know he's fake, do I still get presents?"

"Always," she laughed.

"Then I think it's a lie," she told her.

"You're right," she nodded. "But it's not a bad lie. Parents say it because it makes kids happy and that's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she said.

"How'd you know it was just a story?"

"Well, it takes a half an hour to drive home from school, right? To your house?"

Sofia was learning how to tell time and she had noticed this the other day when Callie had picked her up.

"Right."

"But Santa is supposed to go to _all_ the kids' houses in one night? Even if the reindeer fly, don't they need a break? Hershey gets tired after a walk."

"You're too smart for your own good," she told her.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Faith or Max or any of my school friends," she said. "It's fun for them."

"It is. Is this why you didn't want to get your Santa list all ready for today?"

Sofia's teacher assigned a letter to Santa as a part of their homework. Callie had suggested that they work on it together yesterday so that they could show Santa today at the mall, but Sofia had refused. She told her that she would rather do it today.

"Yep," she said. "And now I don't gotta do it!"

"Yes, you do," she replied. "It's still homework. If you want you can address it to me, Madre, Daddy, and Lexie, but you still have to write a letter."

"Oh, man!"

"What are you going to get your sister for her birthday?"

"She said she wants crayons and a colouring book."

"Well, she has plenty of crayons," she told her. "So how about just a colouring book?"

"Yeah," she said. "Mommy...?"

"What?"

"I'm so happy you don't have to work today."

"Me too," she said.

* * *

As predicted, Faith loved all things Santa Claus. She didn't even mind waiting in the line as long as she could blow kisses to him while she waited. Both girls sat on his lap and posed for a picture – their first were Faith didn't look terrified – and Faith told him she wanted sparkly shoes, a baby doll, and chocolate for Christmas. Simple enough, her mommies thought.

When they got home, Arizona sat Sofia down to work on her letter. They were still pretending that it was to Santa because Faith's little ears were close by, and Sofia was being such a considerate sister.

"How do you spell EasyBake Oven?" Sofia asked.

"How do you think?" the blond questioned as she saw Faith attempting to climb up to her chair.

"E...Z...B..."

"Not quite," she told her as she wrote it out on a scrap sheet of paper. "Like this."

"Thanks."

"Faith, would you like to make a Christmas list?" Mommy questioned.

Sofia's sidekick always took interest when they were gathered around the table doing homework, but today she was especially intrigued. This probably had to do with all of the Santa talk as well as the fact that Arizona was finally home – and staying there – all day.

"Yep," she said.

Arizona reached for a few store flyers that were only destined for the recycle and put them in front of Faith once she was in her seat. Giving the almost three-year-old a crayon, she told her to circle the toys that she wanted. She realized that Faith was going to circle absolutely everything, but that was okay. It would keep her busy and happy.

"Circle?" she asked.

"Circle, yes. Draw a circle around them."

"In blue," she smiled.

"With the blue crayon you have. You got it."

Callie came downstairs to find both girls busily working while Arizona helped out. She understood, and was very supportive of Arizona's need to do something to change the futures of children with the condition that had turned their lives upside down, but she wasn't a saint. It was hard only having her wife home for a few hours every morning or evening. This entire day with her was nothing short of blissful.

"What's going on in here?" she asked.

"Make circles," Faith said. "Get toys."

"You're making circles and getting toys? I think even Santa has a budget. Plus, you don't have much room left for toys in this house!"

She giggled as she circled a picture of a baby. This one wasn't a baby doll, but an actual infant.

"A baby?" Arizona laughed. "No! I don't think so!"

"Fo' Faith," she insisted.

Two of her little preschool pals had just welcomed new siblings to their families and Faith had met both of the babies. This had to have been where she picked up this idea from.

"Nope!" Callie said. "We have big girls now, Silly!"

"Faith, you're going to be three in two more days," Sofia told her. "You're all the way potty trained and you know a whole bunch of stuff. You even go to preschool. You're big. Littler than me, but still getting bigger."

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"Are you excited for your birthday?"

"Santa comes?" she wondered.

"Santa's busy getting ready for Christmas," Callie said. "But at least you saw him today."

"Yeah," she said. "Him fat."

Sofia laughed.

* * *

"Holy crap, you actually had a day off yesterday?" Mark asked when he and Lexie ran into Arizona the next morning at work.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Imagine that," he smiled. "How was it?"

"Good," she answered. "Except for the fact that Sofia broke it to me that she no longer believes in Santa."

"Well, that sucks!" Lexie replied.

"I know."

"How long did you expect her to believe?" Mark laughed.

"How old do you expect her to be before she can date?" Arizona countered.

"Excellent point," he nodded. "I see what you mean now."

Alex walked up to them with a look Arizona hated to see on his face. It was the look he gave her when something absolutely terrible had happened to one of the patients that they had grown close to.

"Who now?" she asked.

"Wren just brought Sebastian in," he replied. "He had a heart attack."

"He's not even two," she said, shaking her head. "This is why I haven't taken days off. Because this condition does things like this to these kids."

"I already put a call in to UNOS," Alex said. "Hopefully they bump him up on the donor list. I know he's not your patient anymore, but I thought maybe –"

"I'll go sit with Wren," she agreed. "Of course."

* * *

Arizona was still with Wren and Sebastian when Callie had her paged to an on-call room. When she got there, her wife was holding an envelope in her hands and staring at it like it contained pure gold or something even more special.

"What is...?"

"It's from UNOS," she said. "It came just before I had to leave. I think it's the letter from the donor's family."

Even though they had agreed to contact weeks ago, they hadn't received this letter until now. At first, they were confused. If it was the donor family's idea, why hadn't they sent anything? However, they quickly realized how hard it must have been for them to write such a letter.

"I can't...not today."

"Want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Sebastian had a heart attack. A _heart attack_. I know it's not impossible for a kid to have one, but he's not even two."

"I'm sorry," Callie said. "I know you're close to him and his family."

"Yeah," she nodded.

"We can open this later."

Arizona drew a deep breath. A grieving family – a family who had pretty much saved Faith's life – had written this letter for them. The least she could do was read it.

"No, open it," she said. "I want to know who this little hero is."

She specifically didn't say _was_. A part of this child lived on. In this little person's death came hope and life for their girl. To them, this special person and their family would continue to be heroes forever.

Callie opened the envelope and out fell a picture. Arizona picked it up and was instantly moved to tears by the image of the perfect little boy in it. His sandy blond hair and big blue eyes were so captivating and his smile was so big that she felt like she could almost hear the giggle that was no doubt escaping from his lips when the photo was taken. She turned it over to see that a name – Michael – and a date were written on it. Arizona gasped when she realized that the date was Sofia's birthday, otherwise known as Faith's transplant date.

"What?"

"This must be the last picture of him," she said, unable to stop the tears. "He's such a beautiful boy, isn't he?"

She passed the photograph to her wife.

"Yeah," she agreed. "He really is."

"This is why I'm doing this," she said. "For Faith, for Sebastian, and for him. I know he didn't have H.L.H.S., and he would have died regardless, but he saved Faith and I owe this to him just as much as I want to give it to kids with H.L.H.S."

"Stop justifying it. I understand."

"Maybe I'm reminding myself. One day, all of this will be worth it. One day, I want H.L.H.S. to be as easy to fix as it is to remove an appendix."


	42. Valentina

"Cupcake, pease?" Faith asked.

Faith had had a great third birthday bash. Her mommies had to admit that they couldn't help but go big for both of their children's yearly celebrations. All children were miracles, but theirs were even more extraordinary. Maybe they were biased, but it was true that both Sofia and Faith had beaten the odds.

This year, Faith's favourite part of her celebration had been her cupcakes. Now, even two weeks later, she still asked for one every day after dinner. Clearly even the few leftovers were gone, but the little girl was not finished celebrating yet.

"No, Faith," Sofia said. "We get banana smoothies for dessert today, remember? You picked out bananas at the store."

"Pease?" Faith asked.

"We don't have anymore," Callie said, giving Faith a kiss on the cheek as she placed the banana smoothie in front of her. "But we do have this. Delicious, huh?"

Faith didn't touch it. It wasn't that she was refusing to drink it, but just that she was waiting for something. She looked up at Madre, then over to Sofia, and even down to Hershey. This had also become routine. She wanted them to sing "Happy Birthday" to her yet again.

"Do we have to?!" Sofia asked. "Faith, we only sing it when it's your birthday. It's not your birthday."

"Let's just sing," Callie said, deciding to give in because she knew that even this phase would come to an end at some point. "English or Spanish, Sof?"

"Spanish."

In an effort to make this habit a little less lame for Sofia – who was clearly not a fan of singing the little tune daily anymore – Callie had taught it to her in Spanish to at least change it up. Faith didn't know the Spanish lyrics yet, considering she still confused a few of the English ones, but she was still happy with this other version.

The singing began and Mommy arrived home just in time to hear the tail end of it.

"Again?" she asked. "Faith, you need a new favourite song."

"No," she refused.

"Whose birthday is next?" Callie asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Faith.

"Auntie Teddy," Sofia answered. "In January."

"Yes, but who else's is first?" she questioned. "Whose is Christmas?"

"Faith Santa!" Faith answered.

Clearly the lesson that Callie had been trying to teach for a week now had been lost on them. Sofia knew the answer but must just have been considering only family and friends. Faith seemed to feel like the upcoming holiday was still all about her favourite new guy. The whole religious meaning of the season hadn't dawned on her yet.

"Jesus," Sofia replied.

"Yes," Callie said.

"Madre, if you're old, Jesus is like...forever and a million years old. If he was still here, he would be."

"You think so?" she asked. "Sof, we're not that old."

"All mommies and daddies are old."

"I need you to still think that when you're a teenager, okay?" she asked.

"Calliope!" Arizona exclaimed, even though she couldn't help but laugh.

"New subject," Callie decided. "How was work, Mommy?"

Arizona's clinical trial began tomorrow. She , Teddy, and Dr. Brady, with the help of a few interns had been spending the last two weeks screening potential candidates based off of ultrasounds and fetal echocardiograms. They needed to operate on newborns in this trial because they wanted only their work to affect the outcome. If any other doctors had treated the patients, they were not eligible at this point. Arizona hoped that this would change someday, but it was just too much of a risk for now. Therefore, tomorrow the first patient that would be a part of the trial would be delivered.

"Our first patient's parents have agreed to officially be a part of this," she said. "We deliver her by C-Section in the morning. Bowden's actually the OB on the case, which is cool."

"Why?" Sofia asked.

"She's the doctor who helped get Faith out of my belly."

"Oh," she said. "Did Sebastian like the picture we drew him?" she asked.

The little boy was still waiting for a heart and not doing so well. Last night, Arizona had been upset about his prognosis and Sofia had noticed. When she asked her mom what was wrong, Arizona was honest. She omitted the details, but she told her that there was a boy named Sebastian who was waiting for a heart and getting very sick. Sofia decided that she and Faith should draw him a picture.

"He didn't see it yet. He slept all day today. But I'm sure he'll love it."

"He'll see it tomorrow."

"Maybe."

"Mommy, you're the best doctor ever," Sofia smiled. "And Dr. Brady cause he fixed Faith up."

"I'm not the best?" Callie teased.

"Ummm...you, and Daddy, and Lexie, and lots of people, too."

"I was kidding," she smiled. "I think Mommy's the best doctor, too. Right, Faith?"

"Yep," Faith nodded, taking a sip of her smoothie.

"Can I have some?" Arizona asked.

"Mine, Mama," she said.

"Can you share a sip?" she asked.

"Give kiss, pease," she decided.

"Oh, only if I give you a kiss?" she asked, as she kissed Faith's little nose. "Good trade. I missed you girls today."

* * *

_Dear child/family, _

_Thank you for agreeing to learn about our beautiful boy whose heart you are now lucky enough to have. He shared his heart with us for four years, two weeks, and four days. We cherished every single one of those and we'd like to let you know just who our son was._

_We know that he would be very happy to know that you have his heart. He certainly had his feisty days where he may not have exactly been the most well-behaved boy, but he was usually a very kind boy. If he knew that someone needed help, he would do all that he could. We're not sure where he really learned this. In fact, we think he might have taught us this lesson instead of the other way around. As much as we wish he was still here with us, that is not the case. We hope he is able to help you live a long life where you can somehow carry on his kindness. We don't ask for any big gestures. However you choose to touch the lives of others is up to you. We have no doubt that you will make your family, your doctors, us, and Michael proud._

_This is all we can write for now. This is harder than we thought it would be. We would like to learn about you and your family if that is okay. Please write us back. It would mean so much. _

_Sincerely, _

_Michael's family_

The letter was simple, but it had an enormous impact on the Robbins/Torres family. Faith – and even Sofia – were too young to understand its message, but their mothers would honour this magical boy in their own way until they could actively start teaching their girls about him. Arizona kept the letter and photograph in her cubby at work right beside pictures of her own kids, hoping that it would motivate her to keep going when this clinical trial made her want to give up. Of course, her daughter was the main reason that this condition had impacted her, but she also wanted the little hero who had saved her to be a part of it all. One day she wanted to be able to write Michael's parents and tell them that their little boy had a role in helping treat so many children. Without his heart, they would still be fighting Faith's battle and Arizona would not have any time or energy to devote to a trial like this.

"I hear Faith's doing well," Arizona heard someone say behind her as she tucked the letter away again after reading it.

She turned around to see Dr. Bowden standing there.

"Now that she has a new heart, it's like she's a whole new kid," Arizona nodded. "She's doing great. She's even in preschool. As much as I hate to admit this, I didn't think we'd actually get to see that. Or at least I wasn't that hopeful. I tried to be, but –"

"But you know the worst case scenario too well," she said. "I get it."

"She actually has rosy cheeks now. She never did before because of her horrible circulation, but they're gorgeous."

"And Sofia?"

"I feel like I'm going to turn around and find her in med. school tomorrow," she laughed.

"Are you ready for today?"

"I know I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about Faith, but maybe that's good. If it was Faith, I would do _everything _I could. That's what this baby needs from me, too."

"Yeah. Mom and Dad want to meet with you before the C-Section."

"Okay."

* * *

The parents, Casey and Julian Green, didn't really have any additional medical questions for Arizona. The ones that they had thought of so far had all been answered yesterday. They mostly just wanted to talk to a parent who had been through it. Arizona had to be careful to keep an emotional distance to some degree, but she couldn't help but be a shoulder for them to cry on. She didn't think that made her a bad doctor. She just thought that that made her a good person.

Their little girl – Valentina – was born an hour later. Arizona sat by her side for about another three after she was stabilized. Just as Dr. Brady was about to force her to take a break for the sake of her sanity, the new parents arrived to the N.I.C.U.

"She's so blue," Casey cried. "I mean, I knew she would be, but she's just..so blue."

"It's okay," Arizona said. "You can touch her."

"I'm surprised you're not freaked out that I'm down here. My nurse upstairs told me that I couldn't come because my incision –"

"Medically, it's not ideal," she said. "But I'm a mama and nothing could keep me from my girls if they were here. Actually, they were both here and nothing could keep me from them. So, take it easy while she's in surgery, but I'm not about to be the one keeping you apart."

"Dr. Robbins is really cool, Valentina," she told her baby. "I don't think you could be in better hands."

"I try," Arizona smiled.

"So she's the first baby you've done this to? The two surgeries instead of three thing?" Julian asked.

The approach that they were trying consisted of combining the first two steps of the common three-stage process into one as much as they could. It was a very, very risky thing to do because it was an even tougher surgery than before. However, if successful, it would hopefully mean that the heart could function much better before the final surgery was done. They couldn't completely combine the two procedures flawlessly, but they were going to do the best job that they could.

"She is."

"You're going to get it right on the first try," he said.

"I hope so," Arizona said. "We've worked very, very hard on this trial. I can tell you that."

* * *

The decision was made to take Valentina into surgery just five hours later because they weren't too happy with her stats. This wasn't a part of the plan, which made them all nervous, but it was the only choice they felt they had.

Unfortunately, the extremely tasking surgery was just too much for her to take. Callie knew as soon as she saw her wife. The life in her blue eyes was gone. She was exhausted and clearly trying so hard to hold back so much emotion. Callie embraced her and the floodgates slammed open. The Latina guided her wife into an on-call room. Nobody else needed to see this moment.

"You did everything you could," she told her. "I was in the gallery. Arizona, there was nothing you could have done."

"What if –?"

"Did you hear me?"

"Her heart just...we couldn't get her back."

"I know."

"Her parents named her Valentina because it means something about being healthy. They were hoping one day she'd have this great story to tell about how sick she used to be before the trial."

"Oh."

"We have to go," she told her. "We already told Julian and Casey. Teddy's handling the paperwork and everything else. I have to get out of here. Where are the girls? What time is it?"

"Take a breath," she told her. "The girls are fine. Lexie offered to keep Faith all night if we want. You and I are going to go home and have a very large glass of wine. You don't have a trial patient tomorrow. You need a glass of wine and a nice long bath."

"Did I kill that baby?" she asked. "Were we not ready? Tell me the truth."

"Trials wouldn't be trials if they were all completely successful," she said. "You did not kill that baby. You did the best you could to save her. There's a big difference."

"I don't want wine. I want to cuddle my girls."

"How about Hershey?" she compromised. "The kids don't need to see you like this."

"How am I going to do this again?"

"You will," she simply said. "Arizona, I've never seen you so determined."

"You have to believe in me," she said.

Right now, she didn't believe in herself. The horrible condition had won today. A baby would never have a chance to grow up. She wouldn't even see her second day of life. Arizona felt defeated. She didn't know how she was going to wake up tomorrow. She had no idea how she would walk these halls again.

"My name's not on this thing, but I'm in it with you," she promised, giving her a kiss. "Always."

"I love you."

"I love you, too. And you are an amazing doctor. You've saved so many kids in your career and you'll have so many more."

"How come the saves don't seem as memorable as the losses?" she asked. "Right now, I can't remember too many wins."

"I was under anesthesia at the time, but rumour has it that you saved a certain micro-preemie," she replied.

"Okay, you have a point. That was pretty memorable."

"You're an amazing doctor. I'll say it until you believe it."

"On second thought, I agree. Faith has to stay at Mark's all night," Arizona decided. "I just can't sing 'Happy Birthday' today."

"I figured not," she said. "But I think I convinced her that we're going to save the singing for Jesus' birthday."

"How?"

"I may have mentioned that we'll also bake Jesus' cupcakes."

Arizona smiled.

"And I made you both smile," she added.

"Thank you."

"I checked on Sebastian for you today. He was more alert, he ate, and he even wanted to watch some cartoons."

"Good."


	43. Special Time

**Again, thank you so much for all of the reviews. :)**

* * *

Arizona had lost another clinical trial patient – this one a baby boy named Madden – a few days ago. As with Valentina's loss, she and her colleagues went to work trying to adapt their methods. However, this time, the Peds. surgeon also decided that she needed to focus on other things. Their next patient wasn't due until mid-January. They had some time and Arizona was determined to enjoy the holiday as much as she could. She had been working, but there had been no real discussions of adapting the trial this week.

"You need a new diaper, huh?" Arizona asked now two-year-old Sebastian as she spent some time with him so that his parents could have a much needed lunch together outside of his hospital room.

The birthday decorations all over his room were downright depressing. His parents had done their best to celebrate his special day last week – especially because the birthdays of a sick child were a _huge _deal – but it still wasn't the party that he deserved. Arizona knew that she couldn't change it for him, but she wished that she could. Spending time with him so that his parents could get out was great, but it wasn't enough.

"Yeah," he said softly, his pacifier mumbling his words.

"So, what new toys did you get for your birthday?" she asked him as she did the diaper change. "Should we play with some?"

"Mama?" he asked.

"Mommy and Daddy will be back soon," she promised.

"Home?" he asked.

Even though he had been in the hospital for some time now, he still asked this. He knew that he didn't feel good, but he still wanted nothing more than to be at home. This place was scary – even if Arizona and Alex and so many other people were trying to make it as Sebastian-friendly as possible – and he missed his familiar routine.

"I wish I could give you your heart and send you home," she told him as she picked him up. "If it was up to me, all of the Faiths and the Sebastians would get new hearts right away and not have to be sick. But I can't do that, Buddy. Your new heart will come, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to be brave and tough until it comes?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Sebbie big."

"You are a big tough boy," she smiled, picking up one of the new trucks that he had gotten for his birthday and sitting down in the chair with him. He didn't have much energy to play, but he was enjoying "driving" the toy up and down her arm.

Alex came in to check on the little boy. Even he had to admit that Sebastian was special to him. After seeing Arizona's daughter go through many of the same struggles, any hypoplastic left heart syndrome case had that effect on him. He could have let someone else check on Sebastian, but he didn't.

"You're awake," he smiled. "That's great!"

"It figures that he wakes up when his parents leave," Arizona said. "He's been doing good, though. All of his stats are good right now."

"Good," he replied. "Sebastian, does it hurt right here?" he asked, touching the little boy's chest.

"No," he answered.

"Alright."

Sebastian's parents arrived back to the hospital ten minutes later, just as Callie began texting her wife to see if she was coming home to make the Christmas treats that they had been promising the kids.

"You didn't have to stay," Wren said.

"I told you I would."

"Now I feel bad."

"Faith's not up from her nap yet," Arizona explained. "I have some time."

"Okay," his dad, Darren, replied. "Thanks for staying with him."

"No problem, right Sebastian?" she asked. "I'm going home to make Christmas cookies and cupcakes."

"Christmas cupcakes?" Wren, Sebastian's mom, asked.

"Faith would like Jesus to have birthday cupcakes," Arizona explained.

"Adorable," she smiled.

"So, Mr. Sebastian, would you like me to save you a cookie or a cupcake?" Arizona asked the toddler. "Which one?"

Technically, these treats should be avoided. Sebastian needed to maintain the same very healthy diet that Faith had been – and was still mostly – on. However, one little Christmas treat wasn't going to do anything major. These treats would be shared with many of the children on the Peds. ward. As long as they could keep them down, Arizona believed that it was okay to break dietary rules every once and awhile.

"Cookie," Wren decided for him. "Right, Seb? You're not too fond of cupcakes."

"Cookie it is then," Arizona smiled. "My kids are waiting for me so I'm going to go now, okay?"

Sebastian waved.

"How's the clinical trial going?" Wren asked. "I heard that you lost the second patient, but you know that there's no way you can give up, right? Sebastian can't get into this trial. I realize that. But still. You can't give up. You'll get it at some point and it'll keep so many kids from getting to this point. I heard you don't want to talk about it, but I'm personally going to nag. I call it motivation. H.L.H.S. is evil and you can't let it win, Arizona."

"How many losses are too many though? I know two isn't a big number, but to the four parents who don't have their babies, it's too big."

"Think about the thousands and thousands that could be saved if you stick to this though. Hopefully the third times the charm, but you can't throw in the towel. I won't let you."

She laughed, but she knew exactly what Wren was saying. If another doctor had been thinking about giving up on a clinical trial while Faith was still so sick, she would have done everything in her power to talk them out of it.

"Okay," she smiled.

"Promise?"

"Sure."

"For real?"

"Yep."

"Liar."

"For real!" Arizona insisted. "I just can't go over and over and over it right now. Right now, I need a few days."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Arizona arrived home to find that Callie had already started the baking with the girls. Sofia and Faith wore matching Christmas aprons that had been purchased just to bake for Jesus' birthday and Faith had added a red and green sparkly tutu and a candy cane stripped headband to the mix.

"Are you extra festive?" she asked.

"What that?" she wondered, giving her mom a deeply puzzled look.

"It means you look all ready for Christmas," she nodded.

"Faith, do you want to help mix the wet ingredients?" Callie asked.

"Yep," she asked, stepping up on the little step stool they had in the kitchen for times like these. "Whoa," she said as she lost her balance and wobbled a little.

Luckily she didn't actually fall over. She was able to stabilize herself. She let out a little laugh.

"Help Madre stir," Mommy encouraged as she washed her own hands.

"I put all the papers in for the cupcakes," Sofia said as she pointed out the muffin pan that was lined with the holiday-coloured cupcake wrappers.

"Good," Madre smiled.

"I made a pattern like red, green, red, green..."

"I see that," Arizona said as Faith started stirring. "You're such a good baker, Faith Evelyn."

She dipped her finger in the bowl.

"Ew, Faith!" Sofia exclaimed.

"Her hands are clean," Callie said. "We had to expect some of that, right Faith?"

"Yep," she smiled.

"Don't do it again, okay?"

"Eat 'em?" she asked.

"They aren't even baked yet, Baby. Plus, they're for Christmas. Remember?"

"Ohhh..."

* * *

"Santa come!" Faith told her moms as she pointed to all of the gifts under their Christmas tree on the big day.

The joy on her face, and the little dance she was doing, had just made Callie and Arizona's day. They didn't care if they didn't get a single gift. Seeing their little lady so thrilled and excited to explore on the first Christmas that she really understood was all that they needed.

"He did!" Arizona smiled. "We can do stockings and then we have to wait a few minutes, okay?"

This year they would be spending Christmas morning together. Mark had talked Maxwell into believing that Santa would leave most of his gifts at Sofia's other house. They would open one or two Santa gifts at their place before coming over. Of course, this meant that the Torres girls had to wait as well.

"Faith, come get your stocking," Sofia told her as she made her way over to collect her own.

Faith yawned.

"Even Christmas morning is too early for you, huh?" Arizona asked as she recorded.

"Yeah."

"Go get your stocking and see what Santa put in there," Callie said.

"Santa Faith buddy," she smiled as she got up and went over.

"He's your buddy?" she asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "And Max."

"Max is my brother," Sofia replied.

"He can be your brother and Faith's buddy at the same time," Arizona said.

Everyone – including all three grandparents – quickly discovered everything in their stockings. The girls' had mostly candy which thrilled Faith beyond belief. Sofia was excited by some money that she found in the bottom of hers. Grandma loved a custom made keychain that she got with a picture of the girls on one side and some of Faith's artwork on the other.

"Did you make this for Grandma?" she asked.

"Yep," she smiled. "Pity, Gamma?"

"It's beautiful! I'm going to put my keys on here."

"That's supposed to be you," Sofia explained. "But Faith draws bad."

"No!" Faith protested.

"Okay, let's not fight on Christmas," Callie said.

"Faith draws the best that she can," Abuelo replied. "Right, Faith?"

"Yeah."

The kids got tired of waiting for the rest of Sofia's family to arrive. They each tore into one gift and, even after that, they still had to wait some more. Eventually, Arizona decided to take out the cookies and cupcakes and let them eat while they waited. They could have an early morning treat since it was a special morning. When Mark, Lexie, and Maxwell finally did arrive, Faith was covered in icing.

"Cupcakes at seven a.m.?" Lexie asked.

"Where did you guys open gifts?" Callie replied. "Siberia?"

"My house," Max answered. "Santa gave me a bike!"

"No fair!" Sofia replied.

"Sofia, what do you think that big thing covered with the big pink blanket might me?" Mark laughed.

"I thought that was for Faith," she said. "Because that's Faith's blanket."

"Santa just borrowed it," Arizona said.

"I got a new bike!"

"Santa comed!" Faith announced again.

"I see that!" Mark replied. "Go see what he got you."

"So much!" she told him.

Maxwell helped himself to a cupcake.

"Mine!" Faith told him.

"What happened to Max being your buddy?" Grandpa asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"This one says 'To Faith'," Sofia read. "Faith it's for you!"

"Choclit?" she asked as she headed back over to the tree.

"I think you have enough chocolate," Arizona said. "Dr. Brady would not approve of your diet lately."

"It's Christmas," Lexie said. "Everybody cheats a little, right?"

"Yep."

Faith took the gift from her sister and brought it over to her grandpa. She saw letters on the wrapping paper and she wanted to know what it said.

"M...E...R..."

"That says Merry Christmas," he told her.

"Happy birfday?" she asked.

"It's Jesus' birthday, yes," Callie smiled. "What did you get? Open it up!"

"This is yours Max," Sofia told him as she picked up another present. "I can't find one for me."

"Check out your bike," Lexie told her.

"And there are plenty for you," Callie promised her.


	44. Make It Happen

**Sorry that it's taken me so long to get this up! I did not expect a delay, but other things demanded my attention. I'm back with more now. Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Give Mama a good luck kiss," Callie told Faith as they dropped her off at preschool almost two weeks into the new year.

Clinical trial patient number three – a girl to be named Melody - was being born today. Understandably, Arizona was nervous. Valentina and Madden had both died in surgery, not even giving them a chance to see if their treatment was beneficial. So far, they hadn't saved lives and Arizona hated that. She knew that a trial couldn't be perfect, but it was still tough for her to accept that she couldn't quite be the hero that she wanted to be.

"Here, Mama," Faith smiled as she puckered her little lips and pressed them against her mom's.

"Thanks, Faith," Arizona replied. "You have a good day, okay?"

"Yep," she said in her squeaky little voice. "Bye, Mama. Bye, Maday. "

Just like her big sister, Faith loved going to school. Even considering her needs, the transition had gone considerably well. She was like a little sponge these days, just soaking up all of the learning opportunities as well as the fun that these last few months had afforded her. There was no longer any reason for her to be hesitant to let her moms leave. In fact, she was often ready for them to go before they were.

"I'll come pick you up later," Callie told her.

"Mama, too?" she asked.

"Today, Mommy's working on a little baby with a special heart like you used to have," Arizona explained. "Can I stay with her and let Madre pick you up? I think that would make Baby Melody happy."

"Okay," she said. "Gotta work."

"I do have to work," she nodded. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yep."

After a kiss for Madre, Faith joined a few of her little friends to play. Arizona turned away – ready to leave – when her wife put her hand out and stopped her.

"What?"

"Do you have to be at the hospital right away?"

"No, Melody's our only patient and Tricia's not even in labour yet," she said. "I cleared my schedule for the day, other than her. Hunt wasn't too impressed, but he understood. This has to go well."

"Exactly."

"You're supposed to say 'it will,'" she said.

"It will," Callie smiled. "But watch her. Just...watch Faith."

"I'm watching."

"What do you see?" she asked.

"The best kid ever," Arizona said. "Tied only with her sister. I see that every day. What else am I supposed to be seeing."

"Faith," she said. "We named her that for a reason. And right now, I'm not sure how much faith you have in yourself. So we're gonna go watch through that window until you convincingly tell me that you know you're ready to do this today."

"That might take awhile."

"Well, I've got an hour and a half before my first surgery of the day, so hurry the inspiration along. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

"Well, you're later than usual," Dr. Brady said when Arizona arrived to the hospital and met the rest of the trial team in the conference room.

She wasn't actually late at all. Tricia's induction had just begun. They didn't need her at this point. In fact, Dr. Brady wouldn't even have been there yet himself if he didn't have to check in on another patient who he was also treating for another condition.

"I'm not late," she said.

"Where were you?" Teddy wondered.

"Getting inspired," she told her.

"By?" Dr. Brady asked.

"Faith," she smiled. "Three years ago, if you told me she'd be the kid she is today, I'd think you were lying to me. We were hoping, but the odds weren't in our favour. And she's doing so, so well now. She still has some things that are different from the typical child and she always will, but she's here and she's thriving."

"You're welcome," he replied with a smile.

"Oh, trust me. There is no way we could ever, ever thank you enough. We know."

"You don't have to," he said. "I was kidding."

"Tricia's been induced, but nothing's really happening yet. Latest fetal echo shows no notable changes from when we first met her."

"Okay," Arizona said. "I'll take a look and then get her to sign the consent form."

"I feel so bad for her," Dr. Brady told them. "Not that I don't feel bad for all parents with sick kids, but she's doing this alone."

Tricia's boyfriend had left her six weeks after their daughter's hypoplastic left heart syndrome diagnosis was made. He said that he simply couldn't handle having a sick baby with such high needs. Yet, Tricia didn't feel like she could either and she was now going through this without his support.

"Not completely alone," Arizona pointed out. "She has her family and friends. I know it's not the same as a partner, but still. Everybody here made getting through this with Faith so much easier. She's going to have to be tough, but she can do this. There's no stopping a determined mama."

"Nope," Teddy smiled. "That's why we're here."

* * *

"How's it going in here?" Arizona asked when she walked into Tricia's room.

Her induction meant that Tricia's labour was likely to progress slowly. She was having mild contractions, but she was still relatively comfortable.

"Slowly," she said.

"I figured," she smiled. "Hang in there."

"I will."

"Where's your family?" she asked.

"I sent them to the cafeteria," she explained. "I needed a little alone time."

"Oh, I can come back if..."

"I'm happy she's coming, but it's not going to be the happy family time that it should be. I was a little sick of the fake happiness. I've heard amazing things about you and Dr. Altman and Dr. Brady, but still. My daughter could die today," she said, now in tears. "You haven't saved a baby yet, right?"

"No, we haven't," Arizona told her. "But she's patient number three. We've learned from the first two."

"Enough that you actually think she could live and you're not just using her as some experiment to get it right someday?"

"I can assure you that no life here is ever viewed as just an experiment. Yes, it's a trial, but the only goal we have here is success with each patient we operate on. We haven't succeeded yet, but she's not just going to be another child for us to practice on. She's your baby. She's Melody."

"You remembered her name," she said. "And now I feel rude. I didn't mean to imply that you're heartless. You're not. I know that. I'm just stressed and scared. I'm sorry. Please don't think I'm horrible. "

"You are a mom who found this trial for her baby because you have a goal for her," Arizona said. "That is the farthest thing from horrible, Tricia. She's not even here and you're already an amazing mom. Sometimes Mom's need to speak up for their kids. That's all you were doing."

"Yeah."

"And of course we remembered her name," Arizona replied. "She's important to us. She's your _child._

"Thank you."

"I have the consent form. We would like you to sign them before her birth, just in case there isn't much time to go over them afterwards. If you need more time, I can –"

"No, stay," she said. "You're not acting like some miracle might happen and I'll get this perfectly healthy baby. I know my family is just trying to focus on the fact that today's her birthday, but let's be real. And you are. For that, I like you."

Arizona smiled. "Okay then."

"So, once I sign this, that's it?"

"What do you mean?" Arizona asked.

"If I change my mind...can I do that?"

"Absolutely," Arizona promised. "If she's born and you decide against the trial, all you need to do is tell us. We would absolutely be willing to go through with the three phase option instead of this trial. Compassionate care is always an option too."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"If this was your kid, would you really do this? The trial? Are you that sure that there's hope?"

Tricia didn't know Faith's story. Arizona had decided not to share it with her in hopes that it would help her be able to focus better. Of course she took each case personally because of Faith, but she didn't want to create an "H.L.H.S. mom" bond with this family. Maybe the distance would help. This had been Teddy's suggestion and, even if Arizona wasn't too fond of it, she was giving it a try.

"I...um..."

She wanted to say yes. She planned to. However, now that her mouth had opened up, no words were there. What would they have done if this trial was an option for their own girl? Would she and Calliope have taken the even greater risk for a potentially better outcome? Suddenly, she didn't know. She always assumed that they would have, but the words would not come.

Her pager beeped.

"I'll be back," she said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she replied with a hand on her baby belly. "No baby yet."

* * *

It turned out to be Callie who was paging Arizona. Her surgery had been delayed due to an emergent patient that had to have the OR first. She knew that her wife was still nervous about Melody's surgery, so she thought that she would try to take her mind off of things.

"Oh, thank God you paged."

"What?" Callie asked. "Why? What happened?"

"The mom just asked me if I would put my kid into this same trial," she said. "She doesn't know about Faith, but she asked."

"And...?"

"And would we have?"

Callie was surprised. Yet, she couldn't say yes right away either. There hadn't been any success yet. That would be terrifying to consider. Still, she did believe in Arizona and in this trial.

"You can't say yes either."

"But her baby is not Faith," Callie said. "And we didn't have that option so we can't say what we would have done. We couldn't make a choice on the spot. We would have had to consider it for quite some time. Which she has. And she's here."

"I just wish I could tell her we've had success, but we haven't."

"But if nobody tries, you won't."

"I promised her I wouldn't experiment on her child. I mean, in a way we are. It's a trial. But I don't want to try. I want to do. I want to make it happen."

"Then do it," Callie smiled.

* * *

Arizona headed back to Tricia's room, but it still took a few extra minutes for her to gather up the courage it took to actually seem confident.

"My kid had H.L.H.S," she blurted out.

"What?" Tricia asked.

"My kid. She's three and she used to have H.L.H.S. She had a heart transplant almost a year ago, but she used to have it."

"So would you have put her in the trial?"

"I don't know," she said. "But if you decide to put Melody in the trial, I'll do everything I can. The three step approach can be successful, but it's a lot harder on the patient than we're hoping the two surgeries will be. We have no evidence of this, but there are lives just like my kid's on the line and I'm not just winging it either."

"Where do I sign?" she asked.

"Are you sure?"

"Your kid had the three phase option and still needed a donor heart. There really _are_ no guareentees. I mean, I knew that, but if even a doctor's kid went through hell...I have to try to make this easier for Melody. I know it won't be easy, but if it's even a _little _bit less time in this hospital, it's worth the try."

"Okay then," Arizona said. "She's in great hands. Dr. Brady is still treating my daughter and I'd trust Dr. Altman with anything. This trial was my idea and I hand picked them."

"Good."

* * *

Unfortunately, Callie had not been able to watch from the gallery as they operated on Melody the following day. She had had a reasonably good first day of life considering her condition, so – unlike with Valentina – they had been able to hold off on operating. Callie was in another OR when they finally decided it was the right time.

"Oh, Arizona..." she said when she saw her wife emerge from the OR with tears in her eyes.

She had actually been on her way up to the gallery when this happened because the surgery that had occupied her time had finished just minutes ago. She was too late though. She had missed it.

"They're closing her up," the blond cried. "I couldn't because I was...I..."

"Crying?"

She nodded.

"I'm so –"

"She made it," Arizona revealed.

"She did?!"

"Don't sound so surprised," she told her. "I thought you believed in me."

"I do!" she said, giving her a kiss. "Arizona, she made it!"

"Post-op complications might –"

"They might happen," she agreed. "But you've gotten this far, Arizona!"

"What happened?" Mark asked, walking up.

"My wildly talented, amazing genius of a wife is one step closer to making H.L.H.S. easier to treat," Callie announced.

"Patient number three made it?" he asked.

"She did," Arizona smiled.

"Congrats," he replied. "Obviously we knew you could pull it off. You're gonna be like...the go-to for H.L.H.S. now, Robbins!"

"Slow down," she laughed.

She was on cloud nine. She really was. Yet, Melody still had a long road ahead of her. Even if everything went flawlessly with her recovery, there would be a second surgery. She wasn't healthy yet.

"We will not slow down," Callie said. "Yes, she's not out of the woods. This is still _huge! _One day, I will get to be the wife of Arizona Robbins of the Robbins Method. You could totally get a Harper Avery."

"Harper Averys aren't slowing down," she told her.

"You watch," Mark smiled. "It'll happen."

"What will?" Alex asked.

He had been in the gallery and now he was coming to congratulate her.

"A Harper Avery," Mark said.

"Obviously. It's even cooler when it's kids that get saved."


	45. Melody

"Well, you look like you're having a good day," Arizona said, forcing a smile as she walked into Sebastian's room two days later.

He had very few of these right now. After all, he was a toddler who had to live in a hospital room hooked up to all sorts of things until a new heart came for him. The wait was wearing on everyone, but at least the adults understood it. Poor Sebastian just wanted to be at home.

Today he was sitting up and enjoying a Popsicle while he watched cartoons. This was a notable change for him. Of course it didn't mean that he was better, but it did mean that he was getting to enjoy his day. That was a success.

"He is," Wren replied. "He actually ate some cereal for breakfast, and then we drew Grandma a picture, right Seb?"

"Yep," he nodded.

"After that we called Daddy at work which was a disaster because Daddy couldn't talk long. But at least he had the energy to throw a fit when Daddy couldn't talk long. It was actually joyous to watch him freak out."

"Oh, the things H.L.H.S. moms are grateful for," she replied. "I remember those days."

"You don't seem so happy," Wren said.

She saw right through the fake smile. She herself was all too good at faking emotions. She could tell that Arizona was actually trying to pretend, instead of feeling actual joy right now.

"The clinical trial patient isn't...it's not good."

Melody's heart was failing. Without life support, she wouldn't survive. They had called UNOS and put her on the list to receive a new heart, but they weren't even sure if that would do much good at this point. Her condition had quickly deteriorated and they didn't know if she would pull through even that surgery. A post-surgery mini-stroke, followed by a major one had done too much damage to her little body. Now, everything was starting to shut down as a result.

"Oh," she replied. "Sorry."

"I just thought she was going to make it and then post-op complications do this to her," she said. "I probably shouldn't even be telling you this."

"Like I'm going to tell anybody? Who have I got? Darren's working like crazy so that we can afford all of this and Sebastian's two."

"Big," the little boy said.

"You are big," Arizona smiled. "I'm so glad you're having a good day today."

"Dada come?"

"He'll be here later," Wren promised.

"Again?" he questioned.

"Again. Just like last night."

"Good."

Arizona's pager went off.

"Well, Sebastian, I have to go," she told him. "Enjoy the rest of that popsicle, okay?"

He nodded.

* * *

Arizona was hoping that that page might have been about a heart for the tiny girl she was so desperate to save. Sadly, it wasn't. No, instead Teddy was paging her for a much more heartbreaking reason. She had just placed a chest tube into Melody's little chest. Fluid had built up there, which was yet another sign that things weren't going their way at all.

She went to the N.I.C.U. where Melody and her parents were all gathered around the baby's incubator. The hope that had been in them when the surgery had originally been a success was gone now. They no longer thought that she would be okay. They were trying not to give up completely, but hoping against hope was wearing on them. Watching the baby go through everything she was was terrible.

"A heart isn't going to come, is it?" Tricia asked.

"We don't know that," she told her. "It could."

"And if it does, do you really think she can handle the surgery? With all of the other problems that she's got now?"

"There's a chance she could," she answered. "If we could get a heart, there's a chance. It's not a big chance, but still."

"So we wait," Tricia's dad replied.

"We wait," Arizona nodded.

"Dr. Brady said that she's on the highest dose of pain meds. that he's comfortable giving her," Tricia's mom said. "But she still seems uncomfortable. Her eyes were open a few minutes ago and she doesn't seem comfortable."

"I know," Arizona agreed. "But it becomes dangerous to give her more at a certain point. Given her size –"

"Yeah," Tricia replied. "If we don't get a heart, how long –?"

"I don't like to guess at things like that, but I don't think it would be long. The rest of her body would continue to deteriorate. I know this is hard to hear. We'll do everything we can."

"Could I still choose compassionate care?" Tricia asked. "If a heart doesn't come, could I choose to give her more pain meds. and just –"

"Just wait," her mom urged. "A heart will come."

"I hope so."

* * *

Callie had a busy day herself. In fact, she got home well after she was hoping to that night. She had heard about Baby Melody's day and she planned on getting in bed and talking it out with her wife. Arizona had been doing plenty of venting lately. She knew the routine.

She opened their bedroom door and found that Arizona wasn't alone in bed though. Both of the girls – and Hershey who was at the foot of the bed – were asleep beside her as she texted back and forth with her clinical trial partners.

"I'm sorry I wasn't home earlier," she whispered. "But it looks like you made it work."

"I didn't feel like making dinner and I didn't want take-out, so we ate random things out of the fridge," she replied. "Faith's dinner consisted of a hunk of cheese, some celery sticks, and that left-over guacamole. No chips or anything, just the guacamole. And I'm pretty sure Sofia ate her body weight in peanut butter and apples."

"At least there was fruit and veggies involved," she said.

"True," she said.

"You can go back to the hospital if you want," Callie told her as she carefully climbed into bed, moving Faith over just a little.

"I'm good right here," she smiled. "I just want my girls."

"Hey," Faith said as she awoke.

"Shhh..." Callie replied, giving her a kiss. "Go back to sleep."

"Book, pease Mama?"

"We can't read you a book because Sister is asleep, but you can look at one," Arizona compromised, knowing that the preschooler would soon be asleep again.

Sofia was asleep on top of the book that they had read together before bed. Naturally, this was the one that Faith was interested in now. She pushed her, hoping to be able to get her to roll over. Instead, the big sister woke up.

"Faith!" she complained.

"Fantastic," Callie muttered. "Okay, let's not turn this into a fight, please. All she wants is the book. Once she's had enough, we can all sleep."

Sofia rolled off of the book.

"We got to eat whatever we saw for dinner," the seven-year-old told her.

"I heard."

"Could we do that tomorrow too?"

"You're at Daddy's tomorrow," Arizona told her.

"Oh, man!"

"You love going to Daddy's," Callie laughed. "You always come back with a funny story about something you and Max did together."

"But I wanted junk food for dinner," she explained.

"We're not having junk food for dinner," Callie assured her. "You won't miss out on anything when you're at Daddy's."

"Okay."

Arizona gave her a kiss. "Goodnight, ladies."

"Faith's not a lady," Sofia said. "Ladies are bigger."

"She's a tiny lady," Arizona replied. "Goodnight, Sofia."

"Mommy?"

"What?"

"Why did we break all the rules today?"

"I had a bad day at work."

"Oh," she said. "Do your best tomorrow, okay?"

"I will," she nodded.

"Madre, did you have a good day?"

"I had a long day," she answered.

"Faith and me had good days," she said. "I got all my spelling words right and I think she had fun."

"Good."

"Can we go to sleep now?" Arizona yawned.

* * *

"I definitely thought you'd be here much earlier than this," Dr. Brady said when he and Arizona walked into the hospital together the next morning. "Honestly, I assumed you'd put the girls to bed and come back."

"Nope," she replied. "I needed them last night. "I actually got some sleep with them in bed with us. I'm sure Calliope probably wasn't thrilled, but it helped and I _needed _sleep. Today isn't going to be fun."

"A heart could still come."

"C'mon, Austin," she said.

"It could."

"We're grasping at straws," she told him.

"I know we are," he said. "But we'll get it right one day. Actually, we didn't get it wrong. The surgery itself went well. The post-op complications are the problem."

"Tell that to Tricia."

"I know."

Teddy, who had stayed with Baby Melody all night even after Arizona and Dr. Brady had gone home, was waiting for them in the conference room.

"Tricia's decided enough is enough," she told them.

"Good morning to you, too," Arizona replied.

"Well, it's not a good one, so..."

"Excellent point," Dr. Brady agreed.

"So she's sure she doesn't want to keep waiting?" Arizona asked.

"Very much so," Teddy said. "I just spent the last hour explaining every detail of a possible transplant to her. Every complication. She's not willing to take the chance at this point. A heart hasn't come yet and she thinks Melody's just done. I can't say I disagree. At this point –"

"She wants her baby to die in her arms," Arizona said. "I get it. The poor baby's five days old and she just can't take anymore."

"Right."

"Okay."

* * *

They brought Tricia down to a room just off the N.I.C.U. that was commonly used for families to stay in overnight. Once she was there and they had gone over everything one last time – answering all of the mom's questions – Arizona went to get the baby. She would be disconnected from everything except for her I.V. pain medication, which would be increased now as per Tricia's decision.

"Hey Melody," Arizona said, forcing a smile as she disconnected the things that she could ahead of time. "You're going to go see Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa now. Mommy's going to cuddle you. Cuddles are good. It'll make you feel safe. I know my little girls love cuddles."

The newborn wrapped her fingers around Arizona's hand. Understandably, she was having a tough time with this. However, she couldn't say that she disagreed with Tricia's choice. They had done so much to this little girl. Now it was time to stop.

"You're such a pretty girl," she told her. "I'm so, so sorry, Baby Girl."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Callie said as she walked into the N.I.C.U.

"I know, but I'm still sorry. She doesn't get preschool, Christmas morning, that first bike ride, high school drama, prom, a first date..."

"Yeah."

"She never even got to be outside."

"But she gets to be reasonably comfortable," Callie pointed out, tears forming in her eyes now. "In her mom's arms. Look at her. She wants that."

"You have a pretty great mama," Arizona told the baby, now crying herself. "She did everything she could for you. She did what's best for you. What she thinks is right. That's what all the good mommies try to do."

"Are you...can you do this?"

"It's my job," Arizona said. "I'm okay."

"You can't go in there crying."

"Tricia asked for me," she explained. "She wanted another mom to be the one to do this. All she asked is that I treat her with the same...the same way I would if she was my own. At first I felt like she was just torturing me, but I get it. All she wants is for her baby to feel special."

"Yeah."

"So we're gonna go see Mommy," Arizona said. "Right, Melody?"

* * *

**I realize how sad this is right now. I _promise_ that the sadness will come to an end at some point. I cannot say how, but I promise that my vision for this story is not for it to be this sad the whole time. Stick with me? Thanks. I love the reviews as well. Thank you for those :)**


	46. A Save

"Sofia Robbin Sl –!" Callie called out on the night of their daughter's eighth birthday.

"I'm comin'!"

It was just about her little sister's bedtime now and the day had been great. Sofia had enjoyed every second of her birthday fun and the day brought with it such a wonderful chance to reflect once again on the miracle that had given Faith a new life one year ago. Everything for their family was going so well.

Everything except for Arizona's trial. No patients had survived yet. Only two – Melody and one other little girl – had made it out of the OR. They had a long way to come. Still, Callie thought that she had an idea. Sure, maybe it didn't actually have anything to do with the trial, but it would help her wife. It would restore Arizona back to who she was before this began.

"What dat, Maday?" Faith asked, reaching up to grab at the contents of her mother's hand.

"Be patient, please."

"I still can't believe you did this for me," Arizona said.

"Mommy, it's my birthday so it's my surprise," Sofia corrected as she joined them at the table.

Really, it was for the whole family. It had started as a way to see Arizona get a break and had turned into so much more. It was a way to help Arizona de-stress. It was a birthday gift to Sofia. It would celebrate the anniversary of Faith's transplant. Also, it would do Callie good to see her family having fun. She was excited for that.

"It's for our whole family," Callie corrected.

"And Daddy and Lexie and Max?" Sofia questioned.

"Okay, it's for the four of us," Callie replied. "Still. It's a family surprise."

"Good."

Callie handed something over to Sofia and watched her study it. It was a piece of paper with various pictures of the city of Los Angeles on it.

"This is pretty," she said. "Where is this?"

"L.A.," she explained.

"Faith see?" the little girl asked.

Sofia handed over the pictures. Her little mind was at work and Callie could tell, so she didn't say anything else at first.

"What do you think the surprise might be?" Arizona smiled.

"Are we going on a vacation there?!" Sofia asked.

"We are," Madre nodded. "For Spring Break. Remember my friend Addison? You wouldn't remember meeting her I don't think, but I've talked about her."

"She lives there?"

"Yep. We're going to stay with her at her beach house."

"She lives at the beach?!" Sofia squealed. "Madre, that's _awesome!"_

"I'm glad you're excited," she said. "Yes, she lives on the beach."

"Beach?" Faith asked.

"Are you excited to play on the beach?" Arizona asked. "You'll love it, Baby."

"When do we go?" Sofia asked.

"Spring Break is in two weeks," Callie told her.

"Two weeks," Faith repeated.

"Yay!" Sofia said. "Oh, now I gotta pack!"

"We've got plenty of time, Mija" Callie laughed.

* * *

"Okay, maybe we should have told Sofia when we were actually _leaving_ for L.A.," Callie said when she found Arizona at work the next morning and handed her a cup of coffee. "She spent all morning asking me if she could bring this toy and that toy to L.A. instead of getting ready for school. I barely got her there on time, which means I barely got here on time."

She laughed.

Arizona had been paged to the hospital just as they were getting up, so she hadn't been around to help Callie get the kids ready today. Still, her wife noticed that she seemed unusually cheerful – or maybe just the same as she used to before the clinical trial often brought down her mood at work – today.

"What's got you so happy?" she asked. "Usually when we're here, you're half listening and half thinking about the trial."

"Guess where Alex Karev is right now," she smiled.

"Where?" she asked.

"Leaving on his way to Oregon to get a heart for Sebastian," she announced. "He got the call ten minutes ago," she said. "So yeah. I'm happy. Plus, I saved two little boys in the ER this morning. It's going to be such a good day."

"Good," she smiled.

"I told him I _have _to scrub in," Arizona said. "So I get to go tell Wren the good news. Do you want to come with me? It'll be awesome."

"Sure," she smiled.

Instead of finding Wren in the room with her little boy – as was typical at this time of the day - the ladies discovered that Darren was there instead.

"Oh, Daddy took the day off, huh Sebastian?" Arizona smiled.

"Wren needed some sleep," Darren explained. "So we're hanging out, right Seb?"

"Yep, Dada," he nodded.

"Well, I have some good news," she smiled. "Dr. Karev's on his way to get a heart. UNOS called. As far as we know right now, the transplant's a go."

He didn't say anything at first. They had been waiting months and months for this. It was almost as if he didn't understand that it was finally happening. They had become so used to this new life in the hospital that the chance to take their son home relatively soon didn't seem real.

"Darren? Did you hear me?"

"They really have a heart?" he asked.

"They really do," Arizona said. "As soon as Dr. Karev calls with the final okay, we can actually start the procedure before he even gets back. It'll only be a couple of hours at most."

"Thank you so much," he smiled.

"I'd love to take the credit, but I can't," she joked.

"So what now?" he wondered. "He just...goes into surgery?"

"Well, we'll do a few standard things that we always do pre-op first."

She knew he knew this, but he just couldn't think clearly.

"Right."

"But soon. Very soon. In fact, you should call your wife and tell her to get back here. For now, we'll handle the rest. Has he had anything to eat or drink in the last –"

"He just had some water an hour ago. Does that mean you can't -?"

"We can still operate. We just need to know about that."

"Okay."

"Seb, let's call Mommy and tell her you get a new heart!" he told the boy as he called his wife and put the phone on speaker so that Sebastian could talk to her as well.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We're going to give you a better heart," Arizona told him. "It'll work better."

He smiled.

"Hello?" Wren answered.

"Baby, they have a heart," Darren blurted out.

"What?" she asked. "Darren, if this is some kind of joke, it's not funny. Stop."

They all laughed. It was understandable that Wren may be unsure. After all, not only was this news so hard to believe after months of hospitalization, but it was also April Fools Day.

"It's not."

"I mean it, I'll be so mad at you if you're –"

"Wren, it's not an April Fools Joke," Arizona cut in. "That would make him a horrible person and he's not. We really have a heart. Dr. Karev is headed to Oregon to get it right now."

"Do I have time to get to the hospital before you take him?" she asked.

"Yes," she said. "Please don't drive horribly. Your husband and son would like to leave this place in a few weeks and they can't do that if you're in here."

She laughed.

"Mama?" Sebastian asked as he heard his mother's happy tears.

"You get a heart, Sebbie!" she told him. "Mama was very sleepy, but now I'm wide awake."

"No nap?"

"Oh, now I don't need a nap," she agreed. "Nope! I'll see you soon, okay?"

* * *

Sebastian's transplant went flawlessly. He was now resting in the P.I.C.U., but they expected him to do well post-op. Arizona was on cloud nine. It had been quite some time since she had actually been able to save the life of a child with H.L.H.S. and today she and Alex had done just that. Sure this save didn't have anything to do with her trial, but she wasn't about to get picky. A save was a save. Sebastian's life would be forever changed for the better. On days like today, her job was fantastic.

"He's perfect, isn't he?" Wren asked as Arizona walked into the room. "I mean, he looks bad right now because he's only six hours post-op, but still. He's the perfect kid."

"He is pretty great."

"What are you going to do without me around to bug you about the trial anymore?" she asked. "I'm going to have to talk to Dr. Brady and make sure that he keeps you motivated for me."

"I'm actually taking a little break," Arizona told her. "My wife decided that it's best. We're going to L.A. in a couple of weeks."

"Good," she said. "You can come back refreshed and ready to save more babies."

"That's the plan," she smiled. "Where's Darren?"

"He went to call our parents," Wren said.

"Good."

"Thank you," she told her. "I know that you didn't get him the heart, but you've still been through so much of this with us."

"My pleasure," she replied. "Not really because I wish that H.L.H.S. didn't even exist to begin with, but I'm glad I could help."

Sebastian began to stir, so Arizona left the room to give Wren and her little man some time together. She had probably been waiting for a moment like this since Sebastian's H.L.H.S. diagnosis. While he wasn't exactly "fine" yet, there was finally hope for a much better life.

"I love my job," Arizona smiled.

Dr. Brady – who had come because he was one of Sebastian's doctors – was behind her, but she hadn't noticed him yet.

"Good," he said. "Because two more moms who are pregnant with little boys who happen to have H.L.H.S. expressed interest in the trial today."

"When are they due?"

"July and August."

"Get them in here for a meeting."

"Already scheduled."

"Well, I'm –"

"Going on vacation? Teddy told me. We meet with both of them the day after you get back. We're also operating on two babies that day."

"It's two now?"

"Monica Sellar's due date got moved up," he said.

"But two in one day?"

"Alex Karev can monitor one closely while we're working on the other," he suggested, knowing that Arizona preferred that a doctor be with these patients at all times. "He's not on the trial, but he's good. We can make sure he's looking for exactly what we want him to."

"If that day goes as horribly as all the others and we kill two –"

"We're not killing them. We're trying to save them. Arizona, there's a difference."

"I tell myself that every morning. In fact, it's taped to my bathroom mirror, which has been the reason for some interesting conversations since Sofia reads everything she can get her hands on. It's just hard to believe that."

"How about you start by not saying you're killing them?" he asked. "That could help."

Her cellphone started to ring. "And that's my wife," she said. "I'm supposed to be home now."

"See you tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"Faith's appointment."

"Oh, right," she smiled. "That's tomorrow. Sorry. Today was so awesome that it's all I can think about. Which sounds weird, but..."

"I get it," he smiled.


	47. Los Angeles

"Can I call Daddy now?" Sofia asked.

They had just arrived in L.A. and were settling into Addison's place. Unfortunately, she had had to go into the office to see a patient that she hadn't expected to, so Callie and Arizona were on their own to make lunch for their girls and for Addison's son Henry who also happened to be on Spring Break that week. Of course they didn't mind. They understood the lifestyle. However, by the time they were all unpacked and ready to make lunch, their preschooler was melting down. She wanted to eat right away.

"Really, Sofia?" Callie replied. "You think now would be a good time for that? With your sister screaming? She's hungry. Can we eat first? Then we'll call Daddy."

"Is Daddy at home?"

"Probably not."

"Oh, then we gotta call when he is," she told her.

"Why?" Arizona asked.

"So Hershey and Libby can hear us on the phone," she decided.

"I see," she smiled.

"Can I have a juicebox with lunch?" Henry asked.

"Sure," Callie nodded.

"Faith, would you like jelly on your sandwich?" Arizona asked.

"No!" she whined.

"Just peanut butter?"

"No!"

"Faith, we're working on lunch. Can you be patient for one more minute?"

"No!"

They heard the front door open and Addison's husband Jake soon walked into the kitchen. He had been working, but he was home for the rest of the day now. It worked out nicely since Addison had had to go. Obviously she trusted Callie and Arizona, but she felt bad that she had left them to watch Henry on their vacation.

"You must be Jake," Callie smiled.

"I am," he replied.

"Callie," she introduced herself.

"I'm Arizona," the blond said, serving Faith a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because she knew that she liked them even if she was having a difficult moment right now.

"Oh, I want fruit punch!" Sofia exclaimed as she and her new friend looked in the fridge.

"The one raiding your fridge is Sofia," Callie said. "And the one throwing the hissy fit over a late lunch is Faith."

"Hi," Sofia said.

"Hi," Jake smiled. "Do you like L.A.?"

"Daddy, they live where Mommy used to," Henry said.

"I know," he replied.

Faith started eating and seemed satisfied now. At least that was the case until she saw the syringe filed with her medicine coming her way. She was usually great at taking it now, but today she wasn't going to comply very easily. She was on vacation. It didn't seem fair.

"What happened to big, brave Faith?" Arizona asked. "Did we leave her in Seattle?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"We did? I don't think so! Can we just get it over with, please? Sister'll bring you a juice to wash it down with."

"Which kind do you want, Faith?" Sofia asked.

"No juice!" Faith protested. "Go home!"

Really, Faith was going to love L.A. Until her hunger-related meltdown began, she was enjoying exploring Addison's beach house. It was going great and it was only going to get better. She just didn't feel like agreeing with anything today. Sweet little Faith Evelyn seemed to be on a holiday too. Currently she was being replaced by a little girl who just wanted some control.

"Nobody's at home to take care of you," Mommy told her.

"Lex."

"Oh, Lexie will?" she asked. "I hear Addison has the best apple juice ever. Let's try some."

"No."

Finally, Arizona resorted to Plan B. They preferred that Faith take her medication willingly, but today she was going to have to get a little tricky. She sat down with her on her lap and began tickling her until she laughed. As her mouth was open, Mommy quickly gave her her medication.

"Swallow," she told her. "Don't spit it out, Faith."

Faith swallowed. "Mama!" she exclaimed, upset that Mommy had fooled her.

"You'll appreciate it one day," Arizona told her as she gave her a kiss. "Ask Sister for some juice."

"Apple juice," Faith requested.

"She's usually a very sweet child," Callie told Jake. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "When Henry was little, getting him to take medicine was impossible. Thank God we didn't have to do it everyday of his life."

"Ew, what's this?" Sofia asked, taking something out of the fridge.

"My mommy's green juice," Henry said. "It's disgusting."

"Nasty," Sofia replied, putting it back. She got her sister some juice. "Here, Faith."

"So how do you guys like L.A. so far?" Jake wondered.

"Your house is pretty," Sofia said. "I got two houses and I still like yours better."

He laughed.

* * *

"I feel bad that your girls are going to sleep on my living room floor," Addison said later that night as they sat outside enjoying some wine.

Sofia and Henry had finally decided to call it a night after spending hours playing in the little fort they had created out of blankets and pillows in the living room. Faith had played too, but now she was asleep in Callie's arms. Not wanting her to get too used to sleeping like this, she knew that she probably should put her down, but she just didn't want to.

"Oh, yeah,"Callie laughed. "They're devastated. Addie, Sofia's already asked us if we can move here three times. We've only managed to convince her it's not a good idea because Mark, Lexie, Max and the dogs are still home. They're fine."

Addison was watching Faith sleep. It was dark out, but she could still see the sleep-induced facial expressions that the three-year-old was making. She looked so peaceful. Her day had gotten much, much better after lunch. She loved the beach. In fact, she had fallen asleep lounging in Mommy's arms in the sun and they had had to wake her up for dinner and a bath.

"She's adorable," she smiled.

"We think so," Arizona replied. "She's kind of perfect."

"So, she's done well since getting the heart?"

"Yeah," Callie answered.

"How long ago did she have the transplant?" Jake wondered.

"A year," Arizona told him. "The first several weeks sucked, but after that she's done great."

"Good."

"She had the three phase procedure, right? "Addison inquired.

"Yeah," Callie replied. "But even that couldn't be completely successful."

"I'm really glad I kept my mouth shut then," she said.

"What?" Callie asked.

"When you called me the first time when Arizona was pregnant and you had all of those questions for me," she started to explain. "As well...me, I wanted to start talking about the possibility of fetal surgery, but something just stopped me. I didn't know why, but I just couldn't bring it up."

"Obviously we heard about it in our research," Arizona said. "But we never gave it much thought, either. Brady never seemed to think it could be good for Faith."

"Addison, since when do you shy away from something hard surgically?" Callie questioned.

"Since it's still such a long shot," she told her. "Only a small percentage of H.L.H.S. babies are even candidates and the success rate isn't high at all. Even my success rate is low. In fact, the last three H.L.H.S. babies I _have_ operated on have ended up needing the Norwood, Glenn, and Fontan anyway. Sometimes I go for it when it seems like there's enough going for the baby, but I couldn't give you two false hope and with that surgery, that's what it seems like I'm doing."

"Kind of like my trial," Arizona said. "I want to keep going because one day I'll save lives, but trying to save these little babies and then just..not doing it is terrible."

"No trial talk," Callie replied.

"I know," she said. "I've done so good all day, but did you really expect me to come on a vacation, stay at Addison's house and not talk about saving babies at all?"

"Okay."

Faith began to stir in her madre's arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she just looked up at her as if she was trying to figure out where she was.

"Hi," Callie smiled, giving her a kiss. "Are you ready to go lay down with Sofia? You get to have a little slumber party in Addison's living room all week."

"No."

"No?" she asked. "Why not?"

"Hold Faith," she yawned. "Hold baby."

"You want me to hold you like a baby?" she replied. "But you're a big girl."

"Hold," she insisted.

She still loved to snuggle like this. It had comforted her greatly when she was in the hospital and it remained one of her favourite things. They didn't do it often because they wanted their girl to be able to sleep independently at her age, but they loved it just as much. Secretly they were dreading the day that this preference would stop, even though they wanted to encourage her to be a big girl.

"Pease?" she asked.

"For a little bit," Callie agreed.

"Did you have fun today, Faith?" Jake asked.

"Yeah."

"You still have sand in your hair, Faith," Madre told her. "Even after your bath."

"Beach," she smiled. "Go beach, okay?"

"No, you can't play on the beach now," Callie laughed. "Tomorrow."

"Now."

"Tomorrow," she said.

"It's dark out now, Sweet Girl," Arizona smiled. "You need sunshine to play on the beach!"

"Yeah," she smiled.

"Do you love L.A.?" Callie asked.

"Yep."

"Is it your favourite?"

"Home," she said.

"Home still is?" she asked. "Yeah, home's good too."

"Beach?" she questioned.

Callie laughed. The persistence of a three-year-old was unmatched. She knew what she wanted and she simply lacked the patience to wait for any sunshine. She was going to keep asking until she either fell asleep or the sun rose again. She was tired, so they knew which would come first, but she didn't seem to care. She had been introduced to the glory of life on the beach today and she was already addicted.

"Is the sun up?"

"So much," she smiled.

"So much sun?" Arizona laughed. "I don't see any, Crazy Girl!"

She giggled.

* * *

Everyone eventually went to bed that night, but Arizona couldn't sleep. It wasn't because she was excited about their beach day the next day, although she was. No, just like at home, it was because of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. She really had tried to leave the trial at home and come here for a break, but she couldn't stop thinking about what Addison had said. Even she hadn't had much success and she was basically a super genius miracle worker. Arizona found this disturbing. Why did that horrible condition win so often?

"Aren't you supposed to be on the beach with your babies?" Addison asked as the blond walked into the practice's kitchen area the next afternoon.

"They're having a blast with Calliope," she said. "I need you to tell me what you think the problem is with the in-utero surgery."

"If I knew, wouldn't I fix it?" she pointed out.

"Good point, but still. What could be done? Anything? Anything at all?"

"You need to learn what a vacation is," Derek's sister Amelia told her.

"If Henry had this, she would feel the same way," she said. "My wife does too, but it's my specialty so it's on me to do something."

"It's not on you," Addison said. "It's on –"

"She has a point," Amelia realized. "I'm a Neurosurgeon who had a brainless baby. There's no way to fix that, but if there was, I'd be a crazy chick with a scalpel until I figured something out."

"I know doctor's only recommend it if the babies have a decently sized –" Arizona continued.

"And most babies with H.L.H.S. don't," Addison countered.

"I know, but what if there was a way to go for it anyway?"

"It's hardly successful even with –"

"You're you and I'm me," she replied. "I'm a good surgeon. I'm not nearly as qualified as you are, but I'm good and I'm a mama bear. My kid's okay, but I can name off so many babies who aren't. In order for me to enjoy my vacation, I need your brain. Think for me."

"I think I like you," Amelia said. "I like her. Not too many people can actually challenge you, Addie."

"Fine," Addison replied. "I'll do some research. I doubt anything will come of it because if it would, I would have tried it already and I think trying in-utero surgery even without a decent mitral valve is crazy, but I've never considered it, so you might be on to something."

"I just think maybe doctors are limiting themselves for no reason. Maybe we can find a way to keep these babies alive and do the surgery before birth anyway."

"I wouldn't say 'no reason'," she warned. "The mitral –"

"I know that, but you have knowledge I don't. That's my point. Take my theory and think." Arizona's cell phone began ringing. "And that's my wife. Now I have to go pretend not to think about tiny human hearts and play on the beach with my perfect kids."

With that, she left. She had issued Addison a challenge that she hadn't seen coming. It seemed to be an impossible task. Yet, she hadn't let her say no.

"Correction. I think I _really_ like her," Amelia said. "I can even forgive how she said 'tiny humans.'"


	48. Working Vacation

The next day, Callie, Arizona, and Addison walked into the guest room where the wives were staying to find Faith standing in front of the full-length mirror in nothing but a Pull-Up admiring her adorably good looks. They had been to the beach earlier in the day and she hadn't wanted to put clothes on after they rinsed all of the sand off of her. It was hot out, so they didn't even bother making her. If she wanted to hang out in the house like that, it was okay.

"Ooo...pity Faith," she smiled at herself. "Hi!"

They all laughed. If they could, Callie and Arizona would freeze her in time right now so that she would never grow up and stop doing all of these precious things. Her babyhood had been tough and they were glad that all of those long, hard days were behind them, but things were good right now. Faith Evelyn had never been better.

"Are you beautiful, Faith?" Callie asked.

"Yep."

"We think so," she agreed.

"Oh, I miss this age so much," Addison said. "Henry was definitely a handful, but in the best of ways."

"Have you ever considered adopting more?" Callie wondered.

"Henry's it," she said. "It took me so long to become his mom. I just don't need to go through any of that again. He's enough."

"Yeah," Arizona said. "Hey, Faith Evelyn, would you like to get some clothes on and go get some ice cream?"

"Choclit!" she exclaimed.

"Of course chocolate!" Callie replied. "That's your favourite! We know."

"No!" Arizona joked. "Faith doesn't want chocolate!"

"Yeah!" she insisted as she started coming over to her. "Choclit, Mama. Pease?"

"I was teasing," she smiled. She picked her up. "Let's get clothes on, okay?"

Sofia came into the room with Arizona's phone in her hand. They had been letting her send little texts to Mark and Lexie every now and then while they were in L.A., but now she had taken it upon herself to grab Mom's phone.

"How do you spell 'swimming?'" she asked.

"Did you ask for my phone?" Arizona replied. "Give me that."

"Well, I don't have my own, so..." she said.

"You are eight years old," Callie said. "We are not giving you a phone. And before you say it, neither are Dad and Lexie."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not old enough."

"That's not fair."

"We'll let you call Dad when we're having ice cream," Arizona said. "We don't care if you call him and text him, but please don't start taking our phones."

"I really gotta grow up," she said. "I can't wait 'till I can do whatever I want."

Callie laughed. "You'll be waiting quite a while."

* * *

"What's your favourite thing about L.A.?" Mark asked when they called him during their little ice cream outing.

"The beach," Sofia replied with a mouthful of her treat. "It's so hot here. Faith got a big sunburn."

Even though they had applied plenty of sunblock, it hadn't done much to prevent Faith's fair skin from burning. Arizona had the same problem, but she hadn't been in the direct sun quite as much as her beach baby. Faith's entire face and both of her arms were red and peeling. Still, she wasn't giving up a second of the sunshine.

"Did she?"

"She looks like a little baby tomato," Sofia laughed.

"No!" Faith protested. "Pity! Ugh!"

"Okay, okay..." Callie said. "You're so pretty."

"Faith, what's your favourite part of vacation?" Mark asked her, just trying to get her mind off of Sofia's comment.

"Choclit," she answered.

"It doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?" Arizona smiled. "We didn't even have to bring you here? We could have just bought you some ice cream at home."

"Addie," she smiled.

"Oh, and you like Addie, too?" Callie asked.

"Thanks, Faith," Addison smiled. "I like you, too."

"And choclit?" she questioned.

"And chocolate," she nodded.

* * *

Later that night, Arizona came down to the kitchen for a glass of water and found Addison going through a mountain of paperwork. She was clearly deep in thought, so the blond tried not to disturb her. Addison didn't mind though.

"Have you even had any babies make it out of surgery?"

"Two," Arizona said, sitting down when she realized that Addison was pouring over hypoplastic left heart syndrome related studies. "But they both didn't respond well afterwards. Their little bodies just started shutting down, so as far as I'm concerned, we've had no success. I don't want to almost save them. I want to save them."

"It's something, though," she replied. "The technique can work, it's just...something's off. It's a lot for a newborn to go through physically. It could be more effective, but the healing process is too much."

"What are you thinking?"

"I don't know."

"Is it possible to do in-utero?" she wondered.

"I don't know yet."

"Talk me through it," Arizona said. "Why are you hesitant?"

Arizona was a Pediatric surgeon. She knew a lot about the bodies of small children including newborns. What she didn't have as much knowledge of was how doing a procedure in the womb changed things. She knew about pregnancy, but fetal surgery took things to a whole new level. Still, she felt like this could work if she could just understand it all a little better.

"You could still end up with –"

"Dead babies?" she asked. "I know. And not only would there be dead babies, but mothers would have to give birth to those dead babies. I know every trial has risks, but I don't take that lightly. At all."

"We have no proof that doing it in the womb would actually change outcomes."

"But it does for other things, right?"

"Sometimes," she nodded.

"So why does or doesn't it work in other cases? That's what we have to figure out. How much do maternal factors affect the results?"

"I'm working on it."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just...it's like there's this clock and I'm working against it. I know I'll get it in time. Or I'll die trying. I know that. But I feel responsible for each of those babies' lives before that day comes."

"Arizona, what you're doing is ground-breaking," Addison told her. "You act like you're clueless, but this is amazing work. You haven't failed. You're on to something big."

Callie came down. She had woken up without her wife beside her and she wanted to know what was going on. Of course, she suspected it had something to do with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

"There you are," she smiled as she gave her a kiss.

"I'm coming to bed in a minute. I promise."

"Arizona, I don't care," she smiled. "I mean, I do, but I love how committed you are. If you weren't, that would be a problem. I want this just as bad as you do. I'm an Ortho, though. There's nothing I can do about it."

"We have two patients the day we go home," she said. "And we've tweaked the treatment plan, but I don't think it's going to lead to a miracle."

"You never know. You've gotten close."

"I want to send a baby home," she told her. "I want to give a parent more time with their child."

"And you will."

"You might be on to something with this in-utero thing," Addison said. "Something's happening during recovery, but if they're still in the womb, they're still developing. That's a critical time and it might make a difference. We just don't _know _yet."

"And other in-utero techniques haven't worked," she replied.

"But they aren't your technique."


	49. Shut It Down

**It's a pretty small chapter, but it has a pretty big impact.**

* * *

Even three weeks after they returned back home, the Torres girls couldn't stop talking about Los Angeles. Sofia had successfully made her little brother jealous and Faith kept telling her preschool teacher that the Seattle sun was "just little good"on nice days now that she had experienced the weather in California.

It was Mother's day, so the entire blended family of seven was hanging out at Mark and Lexie's place. Arizona was texting back and forth with Dr. Brady and Teddy regarding the reasons why they had lost their last three trial patients. None of them had even made it off of the table, which made Arizona feel like they had just taken a giant leap backwards instead of forwards. Addison was still working on ideas, but nothing had come of that path yet.

"Arizona?" Callie asked.

"What?"

"Disneyland next year?" she replied.

"What?"

She had zoned out and missed an entire conversation that the adults were having about vacation plans. They typically took separate vacations because that was just how things worked out, but they were discussing planning this one for all of them.

"I've wanted to go back since Sofia was a fetus, but we never did it. And then we had Faith and the world stopped for three years. Now we totally could go. Not this year because I know you'll be working on the trial all summer. Plus, Mark and Lexie are taking Sofia and Max to Vancouver in August. But next year, we could actually do it. Sofia'll be nine, but you're never too old for Disney fun and Faith would be the perfect age. Max, too, really."

"Okay," she smiled.

"We talk about Disney and her response is 'okay?'" Lexie asked. "She wears roller skates for shoes. Shouldn't she _love_ Disney?"

"She lives in H.L.H.S. land," Callie said.

"I can't help it."

"I know," she replied. "But can you put the phone down for just a few minutes? The kids are about to come down with our 'secret' Mother's day cards."

"Okay," Arizona smiled.

There was only one thing more important to her than her trial and that was her family. If suppressing her need to think about it would make them happy, she would do it.

"Thank you."

"And Disney sounds great."

"Sof is less than thrilled about Vancouver," Lexie said.

"I told her and her response was 'it's not L.A., Daddy! I only want L.A.'"

"I do!" Sofia replied as she walked into the conversation. "We don't even gotta get a hotel! We can stay with Madre's friend Addison!"

"She's my friend too, Sof," Mark laughed. "And we're going to Vancouver."

"Why?" she asked. "That's like...I don't even know where that is!"

"It's actually not far from here," Lexie explained. "But it's in Canada."

"Really?"

"Really."

Arizona's phone rang and she didn't answer it. It was hard not to, but her wife had asked her, so she didn't. Instead, the other two kids came down and the moms all received their Mother's day cards.

"Is that me, Faith?" Callie asked of one of the figures in her card.

"Yep," she nodded.

"I'm wearing quite a big hat," she laughed.

"Go to a beach," she explained.

"Oh, I'm on the beach, so I need a hat?"

"Yeah."

There was no hat involved in Arizona's card. Instead, she appeared to be laying down in some strange sort of box.

"What about my picture?" she asked.

"You seep," she said.

"I'm sleeping?"

"Go to bed."

"How come Madre gets to be on a beach and I'm in bed?"

Faith rolled her little eyes as if this was a ridiculous question. She drew what she felt like drawing and her parents were way too into this.

"'Cause."

"Is that you cuddling with me?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Oh, okay. That's much better than the beach."

"No, it's not," Sofia said.

Callie's phone rang next. She too ignored it. She had asked her wife to, so she had to do the same thing. However, when they both rang at the same time just minutes later, she took it as a sign and answered hers.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Callie," a familiar voice said. "It's Austin. Happy Mother's day. Where's Arizona?"

"Right here."

"Can I talk to her?"

Callie passed her phone over. It turned out that he and Teddy had been the ones calling this whole time. They had some news for her. Arizona looked confused when she hung up the phone.

"What?" Callie asked.

"Hunt called a meeting about the trial for tomorrow morning. Until now, he's pretty much left it up to me and stayed out of it."

"Oh."

* * *

"He can't just shut it down, can he?" Dr. Brady asked as they waited in the conference room that had become known as theirs the next day.

"Why couldn't he?" Arizona responded. "He's the Chief."

"The trial hasn't been successful, but we've managed to learn that our technique can be," he said. "He can't stop us now. Deaths happen in trials. That's normal. Horrible, but normal."

"But we're not exactly making the hospital look good," Teddy said.

"No," Arizona agreed.

Unfortunately, Dr. Brady was wrong. Owen could, and did, decide to shut the trial down. The hospital was putting too much time, money, and other resources into it. It had been months and there just wasn't enough progress. He did acknowledge that they had learned a lot, but he still couldn't let it continue. Arizona and Teddy needed to start taking on more non-H.L.H.S. patients again. That part of their jobs had started to suffer.

"I understand why you're so attached to this and I'm not faulting you for it," he said. "I'm really not. It's just that I have a whole hospital to worry about, not just one condition. Other specialties are starting to talk about the amount of resources that this trial has taken up."

"What specialties?" Arizona asked. "Because it's not Ortho, Plas-"

"I'm not saying no forever," he promised. "Just for now."

* * *

"So, good news and bad news," Arizona said when she saw her wife a few hours later.

"Start with the bad," she told her. "I'm guessing this has to do with your meeting."

"Hunt shut the trial down," she said. "Which I understand, but this isn't some business decision. These are infants."

"Sorry," she said. "What's the good news?"

"You and the girls will see my face more often?" she replied. "Really there's not much good in having my trial shut down, but I'm trying not to hate Hunt. I actually think he's a good Chief. So yay for more time to be Mommy. He said that when we came up with something better, he'd consider it."

"Did you tell him about Addison?"

"We don't _have_ anything."

"I'd still tell him," she suggested. "Once this thing gets completely shut down, it'll take more to start it up again."

Arizona picked up her phone and dialed a number. Why hadn't she realized that? For someone so focused on this trial, that seemed pretty stupid of her, she thought. She had an idea.

"Hello?" Addison answered.

"Hi, it's Arizona," she said in her most cheerful voice. "My Chief shut down my trial, so I'm going to tell him you have a super genius idea, alright? We can work on it more once you get here."

"Get there?" Addison laughed. "What?"

"I'm begging. Literally begging. Give me a few days out here. Please, Addison. I know you really don't know me well, but my wife is your friend. Do us a favour."

"What about my job? Not to mention my husband and kid?"

"One week," she said. "You've travelled for cases before."

"Before I had Henry."

"Please?"

"You're annoyingly persistent," she said.

"C'mon. How long has it been since you've seen Mark and Derek? Even Bailey? It'll be like a reunion!"

"I'll talk to Jake."


	50. Welcome Back

"Are you having fun?" Addison laughed.

She had been hesitant to head to Seattle for the week this time. This trip was different than before. Not only was she taking time off from her job, but she was leaving Jake and Henry. She knew that everything would be fine, but she still didn't exactly enjoy it.

However, Faith Evelyn was doing a pretty good job of making sure that she had a good time. She had been snooping around – something that her three-year-old self was great at – and she had found a pair of Addison's shoes. Now she was wearing them while she tried, and failed, to walk around the room.

"Yeah, Addie," she smiled.

"Are those too big for you?" Arizona asked.

"Nope," she denied. "Good."

Dr. Brady arrived a few minutes later. They were meeting at the house this time, since Addison had just gotten there and they wanted her to feel as though she was settling in. Plus Teddy was just finishing up a long shift and she needed a break from the hospital for a few hours.

"Well, I didn't realize this thing was so formal," he joked when he saw Faith with the heels. "Austin Brady," he introduced himself.

"Addison Montgomery," she replied, shaking his hand. "Hi."

"Docker?" Faith asked.

"Say 'doctor', Faith," Sofia insisted. "Doctor!"

"No, docker."

"He's not here to see you," Callie assured her.

"Hi," she waved.

"Hi," he smiled. "I like the pyjamas and the heels. It's a good look."

It was almost bedtime. In fact, it was past Faith's bedtime, but the little lady was determined to stay up. For one, Addison was there. That was exciting for the girls. To top it off, Auntie Teddy was coming soon. Therefore, the mommies had agreed that the girls could stay up just long enough to say hi to her.

"Tank you," she replied.

"Sofia, if there's anything you want to bring to Daddy's tomorrow, can you pack it up now?" Callie asked. "While you wait for Auntie Teddy?"

"I'll do it tomorrow."

"He's picking you up in the morning," Arizona explained.

"Oh."

"You'll know when Auntie Teddy gets here," Callie said. "Go, please."

"Okay, okay..."

"Thank you."

Just as Sofia was heading up the stairs to her room, Teddy showed up. Of course, Sofia turned right back around. Her sister was just as excited, probably because she thought that she was there to play.

"Teddy!" she exclaimed. "Hi!"

"Hi!" she said, picking her up and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Are you all ready for bed?"

"No."

"Yes," Callie said. "That was the deal."

"Ten more minutes," Sofia negotiated.

"Auntie Teddy's here to work," Arizona said.

"Because baby hearts gotta get fixed," Sofia replied. "I know. Baby hearts make you busy, Mommy."

"I know they do," she said. "When you get back from Daddy's, we'll do something fun."

"Like make cookies?" she suggested. "With Addison?"

"Sounds good," Addison replied. "Henry'll be jealous."

"Well, you could keep it a secret," she said. "Sometimes when I'm at my dad and Lexie's house, I get to watch a movie after my brother's bedtime. He doesn't even know!"

"Fun," she smiled.

"Alright," Arizona said. "Come give me bedtime kisses and then head up to bed."

"Cuddles?" Faith asked.

"Not tonight," Callie told her. "It's a big girl bed night."

* * *

"It's official," Arizona smiled four days later.

It had been a long four days. In fact, there had been a lot of coffee and very little sleep. Between mommy duties, surgeries, and working on trial things while she had her dream fetal surgeon in the city, Arizona was exhausted. Yet, she had such a good feeling. She didn't even care that she was tired.

"What is?" Lexie asked as a group of them walked into the conference room.

She had paged many of them because she was simply excited to spread the news. They hadn't had any true success yet, but she hadn't felt _this _optimistic in months. This was good. She could feel it.

"Addison Montgomery is amazing," she said.

"Isn't it Montgomery-Reilly now?" Bailey smiled.

"Nope," Addison said. "Just Montgomery. That's Henry's last name, so I just kept it."

"Speaking of that little man, you do know that you could send some pictures once in a blue moon," she replied.

"I will," she smiled.

"Anyways, why is Addison amazing?" Alex asked.

"You have to ask that, Karev?" Addison joked. "Really?"

"Besides the obvious," Mark replied.

"She has found what she thinks is a way to operate on the tiniest of the tiny humans," Arizona announced. "While they are still in the womb. Owen's been able to give us the green light."

"So you're staying in Seattle?" Callie asked.

"She's coming back in June," Arizona said. "It's going to kill me to wait so long, but Henry'll be out of school for the summer, so..."

It would also give them time to do more research and make sure that they had everything all set. Time with Addison on their team was precious. They just didn't have anyone quite as skilled as her and Arizona wasn't about to settle for somebody who wasn't the best she could get.

"Good," Derek said. "So you're bringing Henry?"

"For a few weeks," she answered. "We don't know what Jake will do, so he might stay home with Dad for a few, too."

"Either way, it's great," Arizona said.

"Welcome back, Addie," Mark smiled.

"I'm not back," she protested.

"You're basically back," Derek agreed.

* * *

"Yum!" Faith smiled as she reached out and grabbed a French fry off of Madre's plate.

They were out for a dinner to celebrate what they hoped would be a great victory. Sure, they were very excited, very soon, but they had reason to be. Faith had come with them since she clearly needed some Mommy time and Arizona just didn't want to leave her with a babysitter. Sofia was still at Mark and Lexie's, so she hadn't joined them this time. Therefore, Faith loved the extra attention she was getting.

"You don't eat what's on your plate, but you steal from me?" Callie asked.

"Yeah."

"Faith, do you know why we're here?" she asked.

"We's hungry," she smiled.

"Well, we are hungry, but we're here because Mom and Addison had a really good day at work."

"Yay!"

"Yay!" Arizona replied. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yep."

"What did you do?"

"Cut on paper," she said.

"You practiced cutting with scissors?"

"Yes," she said, making scissor-like motions with her hands. "Mouth open...mouth close..."

Her teacher had told the children to pretend like their scissors were an alligator trying to "eat" their paper. They had to guide their "alligators" along the paper and try to cut as well as they could until the paper was all cut up and the alligator was all finished chomping.

"Can you teach Henry that? He still thinks scissors are weapons," Addison said.

"Noooo," she replied, shaking her head. "Careful!"

"Could you imagine us with a rambunctious little boy?" Arizona asked her wife. "Dress-up is so much easier."

Addison laughed.

It was then that Arizona's phone rang. When she saw that it was the hospital, she had to go answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Robbins," one of the nurse's replied. "I'm sorry to bother you, but Dr. Karev is in surgery and yours appears to be the only other name in the patient's history."

"Okay."

"He was discharged last month following a heart transplant. His name is Sebas-"

"I'll be right there," she said. "What happened?"

"He's been running a fever for the last four hours, according to Mom. She couldn't get it to go down."

"Which could be a sign of rejection," she agreed. "Tell the Wren and Darren not to panic yet. Kids get fevers. This might not be the worst thing ever. It might, but he's keeping that heart if I have any say."


	51. A Long Night

**Thanks so much for all of the recent reviews. The support that this story has gotten makes me so, so happy.**

* * *

When Arizona got to the hospital, the same nurse who had called her was attempting to draw Sebastian's blood since she figured that blood work would be ordered right away. The little man was having nothing to do with it, though. He was used to being poked and prodded since birth, but there was something extra scary about it this time. One minute he was reading books with his mom and the next he was at the hospital. He didn't really understand what was happening.

"Are you having a rough night?" Arizona asked him because she hoped that he would start to feel like he was being listened to. "You'd rather be playing with Mommy at home, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah," he replied.

He looked over to the nurse with the saddest, most innocent expression on his little face. This worked whenever he wanted something from his parents. Maybe it would help with the nurse as well.

"Stop," he simply requested.

"One more poke," she told him. "Hold very, very still for me. Can you do that, Big Boy?"

He kept moving which wasn't helping her be able to stick the needle. If they could just distract him for a second, she could get it in.

"What's this teddys name?" Arizona asked of the stuffed pal that had arrived to the Emergency Room with them tonight.

"Bear," he said.

"Oh, just Bear?" she asked. "Because he's a bear? That's a good name. How did I not know that?"

The nurse had been able to get the needle in without him even flinching this time. He looked over at his arm.

"Done?" he asked.

"Well, that has to stay in there for a little bit," the nurse said. "But Mommy can cuddle you now if you want."

"Dada?"

"He's on his way," Wren promised. "Want to play games on my phone with your other hand while we wait?"

"We'll get him an echocardiogram as soon as we can," Arizona said. "Has he had any other symptoms? How's his energy level been today?"

"He's tired, but not more than usual since the surgery."

"Okay."

"He doesn't have a rapid heart rate," the nurse said.

"Good."

"What are you thinking?" Wren asked.

"We'll have to wait and see, but a fever can mean a lot of things. It is reassuring that he doesn't have other symptoms. That doesn't mean it's not rejection, but..." Arizona answered honestly.

"I just freaked out."

"I'm a Pediatric surgeon and I've done similar things with my girls," she said. "It's all part of being a mom and you're a great one."

"Thank you."

"I'll be back in a little bit, okay Sebastian?"

"No," he replied.

Wren gave him a kiss as she carefully scooped him up into her arms so that the nurse could finish the blood draw while she held her boy.

"I'm sorry, Buddy," she replied. "I wish we could be having fun right now instead."

* * *

About an hour later, Callie came into the living room to find Faith lying face to face on the floor with Hershey.

"Puppy, you's pity," she told her dog. "You so nice."

"Hershey's pretty and nice?" Callie smiled. "Who else is nice?"

"Addie," she decided.

"She is very nice," Callie agreed. "She's helping Mama fix hearts for babies like you when you were a little baby. That's nice of her, isn't it?"

"Be a helper," she smiled. "Where Addie?"

"Addie is upstairs," she said. "Can we give her some alone time, please?"

Both of the kids thought Addison was so much fun. They wanted to play with their guest all of the time. However, Callie didn't want Addison coming to Seattle to help Arizona out and being forced to hang out with their children all of the time. Addison didn't mind, but everyone needed a little time to themselves.

"Sof doin'?" she decided to ask.

"Sofia's in her room looking for her other shoes," she said. "I was helping her, but I think they're at Mark's. She still tells me they aren't, though."

Faith giggled.

"What are you and Hershey doin'?"

"Be buddies, Maday," she answered.

"You're so full of love, Faith," she smiled. "I love it."

"Maday, you a buddy?"

"I'll be your buddy," she nodded. "Of course! Your mamas and your sister are the first buddies you got. I've always been your buddy."

"Yep."

"Ever since you were in Mama's belly."

"Maday?"

"Nope, you were in Mommy's," she told her. "Who was in mine when they were a baby?"

"Puppy?" she asked.

"Not the puppy!" she laughed as she tickled her. "Who else could it be?"

"Ummm..."

"Sister?"

"Sof," she nodded.

Callie picked up her cell phone. Arizona wasn't home yet and she knew that her wife took any case that was hypoplastic left heart syndrome related personally. Maybe she shouldn't have, but she did.

"Should we text Mommy and tell her she's the best doctor ever?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"Tell me what to say," she suggested. "What do you want to tell Mommy?"

Faith thought about it. It took her a minute to come up with a response as she looked around the room. Her toddler mind must have contained so many possibilities.

"Hi," she simply said.

"That's all?"

"Big hi."

"You're so much fun," Callie told her. "Did you know that?"

* * *

Arizona crawled into bed with her wife five hours later. She was being especially careful with Sebastian, but he would be just fine. They didn't know why he had had a fever, but they did eventually get it to go down. None of his tests showed any other signs of rejection, so he appeared to be in the clear.

"How'd it go?" Callie asked as she awoke.

"It was a long few hours full of waiting and seeing."

"A few?"

"Okay, several," she corrected herself. "But still. The standing around is the worst part. I just wanted to have a definite answer for them and I didn't until the fever broke."

"It broke?" she smiled. "Good."

"He's at home in bed right now," she nodded.

"Just where he should be."

Arizona smiled. She couldn't wait to restart the trial with Addison's help. Of course even that would have failures, but she just knew – something was telling her – that they were going to get to send plenty more babies home where they belonged. They would also spend time in the hospital, but they would survive, she hoped.

"I can't wait to start the trial."

"A few more weeks."

"How much do you think we could pay Addison to move here forever?"

She laughed.

"I don't think Addison's interested in money. She's got enough of it."

"I hate not being able to bribe adults," she pouted. "It's so easy with kids. I can get Faith to do anything if I have chocolate on hand. More people should be like preschoolers."

"Did you just compare Addison Montgomery to a child?"

"Just saying. What did L.A. do to get her?"

"She'll be here when she needs to be."

"Thankfully."


	52. August

Even though Arizona wished that Addison could stay in Seattle forever, that didn't exactly happen. She returned home and promised to come back for a certain amount of days in each of the months of June, July, and August. After that they would discuss what else she was needed for depending on the success of their procedure.

As inconvenient as this was for the trial, it restored Arizona's workload back to that of any other Pediatric surgeon most of the time. She was getting to spend more time with her children and it was paying off. Sofia was becoming more and more confident with her reading and Faith had made great strides as far as her vocabulary and a few other preschool-related skills. She almost seemed like a whole new child now that she was saying so many new things. Overall, the family just seemed so much happier lately.

"How are you?" Dr. Brady asked her at her August appointment.

"Good," she told him as Arizona helped her up on the exam table. "Addie comes home soon!"

"Addison comes home soon?" he laughed. "You mean Addison comes to your house soon?"

"Yep," she nodded. "Mine. How is you?"

"I'm good," he smiled. "Thanks for asking. How's your heart?"

"Good," she said. "I wike it."

"That's the first time I've heard you say 'I,'" he realized.

"Spending all summer hanging out with Sofia and sometimes Max has its benefits," Arizona smiled. "We were questioning her preschool teacher about ways to get her speech to improve and she told us to just wait until she spends time with older kids over the summer. Suddenly somebody has realized it's cool to talk like a big girl."

"I see that a lot," he agreed. "When you think about it, how much quality socialization did she get those first couple of years in and out of hospitals? She kind of had to play catch up."

"Right. I've seen it, too, but the mom part of me was still worried that she wasn't speaking too clearly sometimes." she said. "And all of the sudden she'll talk your ear off! Right, Faith?"

"Yep."

"So you like your new heart, huh? Can I listen to it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

Now that she had started to see Dr. Brady outside of the hospital and his office more and more, she had also learned that maybe he wasn't so bad. She had still told her mommy that she wasn't going to the doctor, but now that she was there she was doing great.

"I think we're going to do a new echo at her next appointment, too," he told Arizona. "It's been a couple of months."

"Okay," Arizona replied.

"What?" Faith asked.

"An echo," he explained. "Remember when we look at your heart?"

"No way," she told him.

"Faith, that's not very polite," Arizona told her.

"But it no good," she simply said.

"We'll talk about it, okay?" she asked.

Obviously Faith didn't have a choice. Regular cardiologist appointments and tests were going to have to be a part of her life for the rest of her life. Her moms hated it just as much as she did, but at least they knew why all of these things were best. All that Faith knew was that she once had a heart that didn't work, so she had gotten a new one. To her, many parts of her treatment were still scary. They tried to respect that and at least let her say what she had to say before they told her that the testing was best for her.

"With Addie?" she asked. "Addie wikes me."

"Likes," Arizona corrected.

"I says that!"

"You tried? Okay."

The entire time that this conversation had been going on, Dr. Brady had been listening with his stethoscope. Sure, it was hard to hear, but he had had to work through worse than this.

"Your heart sounds fantastic," he told her. "And you're my most chatty patient of the day."

"Chatty?"

"That means you have a lot to say," he told her.

"Nobody chatty?" she questioned.

"I've seen a lot of little babies today," he explained. "Three little babies who didn't think I was very nice."

"Babies don't talk," she said. "Theys so tiny."

"Correct," he smiled.

"You got some baby?"

"Do I have some babies?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Nope," he said. "No babies for me yet."

"Go get one."

"I tell you what," he laughed. "You come do my job and then see how many babies you want after you see unhappy babies a lot."

"I a happy one."

"The unhappy babies at work are easier to deal with when you have happy ones at home," Arizona said. "Unless your babies have H.L.H.S. Then you barely know what day of the week it is for three years."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said.

* * *

"Sofia found out that Zola's going to her school next year and she's a _little_ excited," Lexie was telling Callie when Arizona and Addison arrived at the hospital a few hours later.

The girls had always been close. They were the same age and their fathers were best friends. It was only natural that they would form a friendship. However, until now, Zola had always attended different schools than Sofia had so they weren't as close these days. Meredith and Derek had decided to enroll Zola into a different school for third grade because second grade hadn't been a good experience for her.

"I can imagine," Callie replied. "Good. Sofia heard that third grade is 'boring' and she's been saying that maybe she'll just do more second grade with the teacher she likes. This'll help."

"And in other news, our genius fetal surgeon is back," Arizona smiled.

"I told you at the airport and I'll say it again. It's weird when you introduce me as a 'genius' anything," Addison laughed. "Genius baby saver, genius fetal surgeon..."

"But it's true. We're so close to having a baby make it. The last few haven't, but we know why. We were operating too soon. That's what's been happening. If we operate between weeks thirty-three and thirty-five, we should be able to expect the babies to do well and be born with fewer complications. We've learned from Mackenzie, Malcolm, Jasmine, and Cole. This next one, I just _know _this is it."

"And tonight might be a tough night," Callie said.

"Was that doubt I heard?"

"No," she said. "Absolutely not. I've just never seen you _this_ sure of the trial."

"There's reason to be," Teddy said. "She's right. Twenty- seven, twenty-nine, thirty, and thirty-two weeks were too soon."

"But we got close with thirty-two," Addison said. "Cole was born at thirty-two weeks with H.L.H.S. and still lived for twenty-five days. That has to mean something."

"The next mom has been admitted," Teddy replied. "You weren't here, so I got the page."

"I'm guessing Brady hasn't made an appearance yet?" Arizona wondered.

"He's still at his office," she said. "He called and he's just finishing up with his last patient."

"How'd Faith's appointment go?" Callie asked.

There had been very little change in Faith's condition lately. That wasn't to say that she would never again have a problem, but things were about as ideal as they were ever going to get right now. She wasn't expecting bad news, but she still asked.

"Well, Faith has decided against an echo," her wife told her. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think I could live without her, so I'm obviously beyond grateful that she's here. But still. I realized today that this is only going to get harder and harder as she gets older."

"It'll be okay," Teddy said. "You'll figure it out. A lot of parents couldn't handle what you've been through so far."

"What choice did we have?"

* * *

Genevieve and Gavin Jones were parents to two older sons. They had figured that adding a third baby to the mix would be easy, since they had already handled the shock of going from one child to two children. They had heard that adding in number three would not be quite as challenging. Of course, this was up for debate, but they were confident in their skills as parents.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome had quickly changed everything, though. Suddenly, they didn't know what they were doing anymore. They didn't feel like they knew what was best for their son.

"Do you have any questions?" Addison asked after she and the rest of the team had gone over things with them an hour later.

She knew she had to, but she didn't like asking this question. It seemed ridiculous. Of course they had more questions. This procedure was the second of Arizona's trial and not one baby had been saved. There were plenty of unknowns.

"You got close with the last baby, but he had to be delivered early, right?" Gavin asked.

"Right. Two days after the procedure. Premature labour is one of the risks to consider. However, we do believe that if he would have been able to be born at term, he would have done well. We can't be certain of that, but we have plenty of reasons to believe it. We have also decided to do the procedure at a later point in the pregnancy in hopes that, if a premature delivery does happen, your baby has a few extra days in its favour."

"And days can actually help?"

"With a preemie they can," she nodded. "We're still hoping your baby isn't a preemie, but giving him more time is the best thing we can do just in case he is."

"You'll be started on steroids to help develop his lungs as well. Just to be safe," Arizona said.

They could tell that the couple was overwhelmed. They had had meetings about the trial and they had been told what it entailed many times; none of that really helped prepare the Jones parents for today. If they made the wrong choice for their son, it could lead to his death. There was a possibility that he could die either way, but at least the three phase procedure had been successful before. However, there was also a chance that, if their son made it through this surgery, he could actually have a better overall outcome.

"Do you need more time to think?" Teddy questioned.

"We've thought about it," Genevieve said. "Why does it feel so horrible now? We knew about the risks yesterday and it still seemed hopeful."

"All of the sudden the pressure to make the right decision is even more intense because we're doing it today. We're either giving him a better life or –" Gavin reasoned.

"Yeah."

"You can have more time if you'd like," Dr. Brady told them.

* * *

The trial team gave them some time alone to discuss their options yet again. They did decide to put all of their trust in these four doctors who were doing all that they could. It was terrifying, but so was the thought of having to put their little boy through so many surgeries and hospitalizations. If this surgery was successfully able to minimize some of those, it would be best.

Genevieve and her baby did well in the surgery. She had had a few contractions, but they were stopping now. This meant that she might not be able to leave the hospital until she delivered, though. Still, for today, they were happy. There was a possibility that they would get to bring their baby home without having to put him through an operation after birth. He had already had it and technically he was already recovering from it. Somehow that was easier to take.

"Is he okay?" Genevieve asked as Addison did an ultrasound.

She had been told that everything had gone well, but she was also still recovering from the anesthesia. She couldn't quite recall the entire conversation that they had had an hour ago.

"He is," Addison smiled. "He's not very active right now, but that's because of the medications we have you on. Once they wear off a little, you should start feeling the same movements you've always felt."

She knew that this would be a major concern of the expectant mom's. Usually an active baby was a good sign. If she suddenly realized that she didn't feel movement, she was likely to worry. She was doing the best she could to put her mind at least somewhat at ease.

"He's been my least active," she told her.

"That's probably due to his H.L.H.S."

"Yeah," she said. "When can I see my boys?"

"Why don't we give it a few more hours?" Arizona, who had come with Addison to check on their patient, asked. "That way you're a little more alert and comfortable. It'll be a better visit."

"I thought you'd say tomorrow," she admitted.

"Well, that might be even better, but we just want you as relaxed as we can get you. I know that that's not possible, but keeping you from your sons won't help. They can come for an hour or two. How's that?"

"Okay," she smiled.

"How old are they?"

"Justice is five and Cohen is four."

"Thank God we waited to have this one," Gavin said. "Can you imagine if we still had toddlers at home?"

"No."

"Does he have a name?" Arizona wondered.

"We've been too scared to even look for a name until he's here," Gavin said, getting teary eyed. "At first we were going to name him anyway because, no matter what, he's our child. But we couldn't name him early just in case he dies. We didn't name Justice or Cohen until birth, so..."

"I understand," Arizona told them. "My daughter had H.L.H.S. and we had a hard time preparing for her, too."

"Had?" Genevieve asked.

"She had a transplant, so she doesn't have that heart anymore."

"Oh."

After she was finished checking everything over, Addison turned the monitor around and showed them their baby's face. She had never been in their situation, but she figured that they would need some concrete proof that their baby was doing okay for the time being.

Genevieve smiled.

"How long before we're out of the woods as far as preterm labour is concerned?" Gavin asked.

"Typically, I'd say thirty-five weeks since most thirty-five weekers aren't quite ready to be born, but they still tend to do fairly well. However, in his situation, term really is all that we're aiming for. I don't want to settle. I honestly would try and stop labour until term in this case. It may not work, but it would be best."

"Okay."

"We'll let you get some rest," Arizona said.

"Thanks," Genevieve replied.

Arizona followed Addison out of the room. Dr. Montgomery knew what was coming next, so she was going to simply cut to the chase this time.

"I'll stay until the birth," she reluctantly offered.

"Thank you."

"I still don't believe that anything would have changed for Cole if I'd stayed for the whole month that he lived. He was a thirty-two weeker with H.L.H.S. No matter what, his heart was too weak. You can treat preemies too, but there was nothing that could be done."

"I know."

"But here there's a chance that, if labour doesn't start, we could have a good outcome. I might miss my son's first day of school, but I'll stay."

"Could you bring Henry and Jake out here for a week before school starts?"

In June, Addison's whole family had come and used the time that Mommy had to be in Seattle as a mini-vacation of sorts. If that was possible again, it may help to lessen the mom guilt. While Arizona was thrilled that Addison was staying, she also sympathized with her.

"Maybe."


	53. Adler

**There are only a few more "Against All Odds" chapters left, my dear readers! I thought I'd warn you so that you can enjoy all of the little Faith (and Sofia too) that's left without being surprised when the final chapter comes soon. Thanks again for all of the kind reviews. You are wonderful.  
**

* * *

"See, we told you he'd survive without you," Amelia said via a Skype conversation.

Addison's family had been able to fly out for a week in August, but they were back at home now. She hadn't seen them in person for three whole weeks which wasn't easy. She hated to be away from them – especially Henry – for any length of time. In this situation, it also seemed slightly unfair to Jake that she had agreed to stay without talking it over with him first. However, he supported her need to help the patient. Plus, he and Henry didn't mind a little father/son time.

Addison felt less guilt when she saw that Amelia – and everyone else from the practice – had stepped in to help Jake out when he couldn't be home for one reason or another. She should have known that this would happen, she realized. She couldn't wait to get home to her family, but everything was okay.

They had been communicating via phone calls, text messages, and Skype conversations. That night, Henry had remembered that he hadn't finished all of his homework, so Amelia sent him off to find it.

"I know," she said. "I just miss them."

"What are they going to do after you figure out if this works?" Amelia asked. "They'll have to replace you, right?"

"I'll probably be back to train someone," she said.

"Oh."

They could both hear Henry starting to call for Amelia soon after that, so Addison let her go. Just as she was ending that conversation, Faith walked into the guest room.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," Addison smiled. "What are you up to?"

"Umm...nothin'."

"Are you waiting for Sofia to come home?" she asked.

While Faith did have both of her moms' – and now Addison's – undivided attention when Sofia was at Mark and Lexie's, she still definitely preferred to have her big sister home. Everything was just more fun with a playmate.

"Yeah," she said. "Addie?"

"Yes?"

"What you doin'?"

"I was Skyping with Henry and Amelia," she explained. "Henry had to finish his homework, though."

Callie came to the door. They had just received another letter from Michael's parents and they wanted to read Faith what they had decided to write back in response to the sweet message from her donor's family. The two families had continued to send letters back and forth. Callie and Arizona hoped that their daughter would cherish each one as she grew to understand them fully one day.

"Mija, come read our letter to Michael's family," she said.

"Okay," she smiled.

"Faith, who is Michael?" she asked as they walked down the hall together.

"A buddy," she answered.

"You're so sweet," she smiled. "He is a buddy. What did he give you?"

"A heart," she answered.

"Right."

"A good heart," she smiled.

"Should we add that it's a good one to our letter? We can put that."

"Oh, yes!" she decided.

They read her the letter that they had written to Michael's family and added the part about her saying that the heart that now belonged to both her and their son was good. She requested that she be allowed to draw a picture, so she was working on that when her sister arrived home.

"What is your picture of?" Sofia asked her.

"Addie," she said.

"You think Michael's family wants a picture of Addison?" Arizona asked.

"Yep."

Of course, Michael's family had heard all about Addison and the trial. It was because Faith was doing well now that Arizona could begin to fight for other children who had this horrible condition. Without Michael's heart, none of this would have been able to happen. Therefore, the preschooler's picture of Addison was actually kind of fitting.

"Daddy says Addison might go home soon," Sofia said.

"Yeah," Arizona nodded. "Once the baby we're waiting for is born, Addie will probably only stay for a few more days."

"But we can go to L.A. and visit lots?"

"I don't know about 'lots'" Callie smiled. "We're busy, but I'm sure we'll visit. And Addison might be back a few times."

"Yay!"

* * *

It was three o'clock in the morning when Addison and Arizona got the call that Genevieve was having contractions. At this point, she was thirty-seven weeks and three days along; that was full term and there was no reason at all why Addison would have to stop them. They had actually just discharged her a few days ago since preterm labour wasn't an issue that they had to be concerned about any longer.

They tried to get ready quietly, but they had been unsuccessful. Arizona came out of the bathroom after her shower to find Faith standing there because she had been woken up. Arizona could tell that Sofia was up as well, but she was trying to go back to sleep. Faith assumed that it was time to get up, even though it still wasn't her favourite time of day.

"Toast today, Mama?"

"Oh, it's not time to get up," she explained. "Addison and I have to go to work, but you, Sofia, and Madre get to sleep still. Madre'll give you toast when it's time for you to get up, okay?"

"Okay," she said as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Want me to tuck you back in?" she asked.

"Yep."

"I'll do it quickly," she agreed.

This little exchange woke Callie up. They usually managed not to wake anyone when they got ready in the middle of the night and suddenly the whole house was awake for some reason. Arizona hoped that this wouldn't be an indication of the trouble that the day itself would be bringing with it.

"Baby time?" Callie asked.

"Baby time," Arizona nodded, giving her a goodbye kiss.

"Good luck," she smiled. "You don't need it, but still. I hope you do tests and see that the procedure did exactly what it was supposed to and this kid can go home sooner rather than later."

"Me too," she said. "Thanks."

"Let's go back to bed, Faith," Callie told their three-year-old. "Give Mama a kiss and then we're going back to sleep."

"Good," she yawned.

Arizona kissed Faith.

"I love you," she said. "Have a good day at school, okay?"

"Yes," she nodded. "School's good."

"I like hearing you say that."

* * *

Genevieve and Gavin decided that it would be best for their third son to be delivered via C-Section. Addison had told them weeks ago that a vaginal birth wasn't completely out of the question, but that it might lead to complications due to the baby's unique situation. It wasn't worth the risk according to the Jones', so their six pound, fourteen ounce baby boy was welcomed into the world just about an hour after Addison and Arizona got to the hospital.

Tests confirmed that he was doing well. They had to make sure that the medications that he was on would work for him, but they had hope that he would eventually head home. The little boy would have one more procedure later in his first year, but the first one had been a great decision for him since he was born doing much better than the vast majority of other babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

"Considering that he's only ten hours hours old and he has H.L.H.S., he's doing well," Addison said. "His stats need to improve, but the first procedure was a success. I think that's safe to say. It's still going to be a long road for him, but so far, things are close to what we'd hoped."

"Hear that, Buddy?" Genevieve asked. "You're going to be okay. Yeah!"

"We tried to give him a bottle a few hours ago and he wouldn't take it," Arizona said. "Feeding problems are common with babies who have H.L.H.S., but we'll just keep trying."

"And what do we do if he still won't take it?" Gavin asked.

Already they were focused on doing everything that they could to help their son through all of his difficulties. Of course, they were also happy to be celebrating his birth, but they couldn't deny that the feeling was different. They loved him just as much as they loved his brothers, yet they had so many worries that were unique to him.

"He'll receive everything that he needs through the feeding tube for now," Dr. Brady explained.

"Even after he goes home?" Genevieve replied. "I know that it won't be for a while, but...?"

"If he's still not taking anything by mouth at that point, yes, he can go home with the feeding tube," he assured them. "And speech therapy can help as well."

"Okay."

"Would you like to try feeding him now?" Arizona asked.

They had been able to hold their son, but the bonding time that most parents got with their newborns hadn't been allowed yet due to the treatment that he needed. However, letting them just spend time with their little one was important, too.

"Okay," Genevieve smiled.

"Let's see if you'll eat better for Mommy," Arizona told him as she took him out of the incubator and handed him over to her. "Maybe you just didn't want to eat for me because I made you have all of those tests, huh?"

"No," Genevieve smiled. "We like Dr. Robbins, don't we?"

"Does he have a name yet?" Teddy asked.

"Adler Robinson Jones," Gavin said.

They had decided to name their son after two of the four doctors who had teamed up to give him a better treatment option. If they could have named him after all four of them they would have. Even so, they chose to honour Addison and Arizona because the two women were the ones that gave Adler the most hope in their opinion. If Arizona hadn't ever thought of putting together a trial, his outcome and treatment plan would not look like it did now. Also, if Addison hadn't agreed to be a part of it, there would have no longer been a trial for Adler to become a part of. They were equally grateful to all four doctors, though.

"Are you serious?" Arizona asked.

"Of course," Genevieve said. "We don't know this for sure, but I just had this feeling throughout the whole pregnancy that he would die before birth. I never really talked about it because I was too scared to, but I didn't actually think that he'd be born. Let alone be born doing this well. I know he's not _healthy_, but he's still got a lot of things working for him right now. Without this trial, who knows where we'd be?"

"So, the next one's Brady, right?" Dr. Brady joked.

As serious as their reason for meeting was, they had all developed quite a bond with this family over the weeks that Genevieve spent on bed rest in the hospital. They were comfortable joking around with them. To be perfectly honest, sometimes the Jones _needed_ the jokes to keep them sane.

"Somehow I don't think that's going to happen," Gavin laughed as his wife began feeding Adler.

* * *

It never took long for news to travel around the hospital, so Callie had found out all about the safe delivery and stable condition of the little guy hours ago. This was just the first chance that she was getting to say anything to her wife about it.

"You did it!" she exclaimed just before kissing her. "And if you say that he still needs at least one more surgery as he gets older..."

"No, for today, I'm just happy," she smiled. "It'll be some time, but that little boy is going to get to go home and stay home for months at a time. Hopefully he'll also have a better quality of life in that time, too. That's the thing. Yeah, we cut out one phase of the surgery, but it wasn't just for less cutting. It also hopefully means that these kids will have better lives in between hospital stays."

"Right."

"This might be the best day of my professional life," she smiled.

"Good," she said. "Are we celebrating tonight?"

"We'll celebrate before Addison goes home."

"Fair enough."

"They named him after Addison and I."

"Really?"

"Really. How cool is that, Calliope?!"


	54. Cheers To You

"What would you like to wear to school tomorrow, Faith Evelyn?" Arizona asked.

Faith had become very interested in selecting her own wardrobe lately. However, she was still three and it was pretty clear that she wasn't cut out for the fashion industry; she would mix and match things that should never be mixed and matched with each other. Therefore, if she wanted to choose her outfits, she usually had to decide between a few Mommy and Madre approved options instead of making her own creation. That was only allowed when they weren't going anywhere.

The little girl picked out a navy blue dress that was typically reserved for special occasions. Arizona and Addison had spent the evening deciding what to wear for all of the press that the clinical trial doctors would be doing the next day. Apparently, the not-so-tiny-anymore Torres also wanted to dress up for her day tomorrow.

Mommy thought about trying to get her to pick from some other options, but she decided to give in. This would make Faith happy and she would look put together.

"You're going to be the most sophisticated preschooler in your whole class," she told her. "Mommy's getting fancy, so you have to?"

"Yeah," she said. "It a pretty day."

"It's a pretty day?" she asked.

She loved how well Faith was doing lately and how much she was growing up, but she had to admit that it was still odd to hear her pronounce certain words properly. Her baby girl was now a little lady and that was somewhat hard to take.

"You're getting so big," she said. "What happened to our baby girl?"

"Somehow she's in preschool now," Callie said.

She had been watching from the doorway. Their eight-year-old was also growing up too fast. She and Callie had just gotten into an argument over how much time Sofia was allowed to spend on the computer, and the third grader had given her some attitude. She didn't do it often, but she was certainly capable. Callie wasn't quite as good at keeping her cool as her wife was, though. Therefore, she had been standing there watching Faith and Mommy interact while trying to remember to reason with Sofia in a better way next time.

"Yeah," Faith said.

"How'd that happen?"

"Got so big," she answered. "I big now."

"I don't remember feeling sad when Sofia started getting bigger," Arizona said.

"Because that's right around the time that we started talking about having Faith," Callie pointed out. "We didn't do it right away, but we talked about wanting another one, so we knew we'd get all of the tiny baby stages again. Now we've got these big kids who pick out their own close and give us sass."

"Give us sass?" she asked.

"Sofia thinks it's okay to spend two hours on the computer at a time and I told her that she needs to find better things to do. She turns around and tells me she's allowed at Mark's. First of all, that's doubtful because she's always coming home with stories about what she did at Dad's and they keep her too busy with activities for her to have that much computer time. Second of all, I'm so sick of that reasoning."

"What? You want to be the fun parents all of the time?" she asked. "We are the fun parents. Faith, are we the most fun parents you have?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"See, Madre?" Arizona smiled. "She's eight. It's only going to get worse until she's past the teen years. Don't let it get to you."

Callie picked Faith up. "Stay little for me, okay?"

"No," she said.

"It's fun to be a big girl," Arizona said. "Plus, Sofia's got that Latin flare of yours that I love so much."

"I'll direct all of her complaints to you from now on," she told her. "How's that?"

"She really is a good kid," Arizona smiled. "We can do this. She's only eight. That's nothing."

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I think so."

* * *

They partially expected the next day to be a tough one. They would much rather just stick to treating patients than doing press conferences any day. That was why they went into medicine. Getting published was nice, but it wasn't why any of them had agreed to join the trial team. However, their experience with the reporters was worse than they even thought that it would be.

"Anybody want to go be the head of my clinical trial for me?" Arizona asked as she and Addison sat down to lunch with Callie, Mark, and Lexie.

"Oh, because nobody likes the baby saving geniuses, right?" Mark teased. "I feel so bad."

"No, it's that nobody wants to talk about the baby we actually saved," Addison replied. "They just want to keep going on and on about how Faith was the inspiration for the trial."

"I knew I'd be talking about Faith today, but I didn't realize people would be more interested in the fact that I'm the mom of a transplant recipient than they are in the fact that we just found a way to save even more babies," Arizona said. "I didn't really want to rehash every detail of Faith's treatment. Finally, Brady stepped in and told them that if we wanted to talk about any child, it should be Adler. Genevieve and Gavin consented to that because they know that getting the word out can save others. Calliope and I didn't agree to make Faith's story so public."

"Right," Callie agreed. "And even with Adler you're not saying _everything._"

"No."

"How is the baby?" Lexie asked.

"Teddy and Austin are checking on him now, but he took a bottle this morning," she smiled.

This was a very, very good sign for the little boy. Like Faith had, many newborns with hypoplastic left heart syndrome experienced trouble with feeding when they were young. These issues were only made worse after the usual first phase of surgery was performed because the babies ended up being intubated. However, since Adler hadn't had to have the Norwood, he wasn't having as much difficulty. This didn't mean that he would always feed well, but it was a promising sign.

"Oh, what we wouldn't have given to have Faith take a bottle at that age," Callie said. "What we wouldn't have given to have Faith not intubated at that age."

"I know," she said. "I think Adler still might go home with the feeding tube just because it'll still be easier, but it still won't be nearly as tough to feed him by mouth."

"Good."

"And he's super cute, too," she said. "Not that that matters, but it's a perk to working in Peds. Our kids aren't so tiny anymore and sometimes I need somebody small to cuddle."

Addison smiled.

"That part is nice," she said.

* * *

Arizona only scrubbed in on one routine procedure for that entire day thanks to all of the press that she had to do. It was a part of her job and she could respect that, but she couldn't wait for a little normalcy to return tomorrow.

She and Addison were both about to head back to the house soon, but not before checking on Adler first. When they arrived to the NICU, they saw that his big brothers were still around even though it was well past visiting hours.

"Oh, all of the brothers are here," Arizona smiled.

"Sorry," Genevieve said. "They're going soon. I know that they shouldn't be here, but one of his nurses said that you'd probably be okay with it."

"I am," she nodded. "Some rules can be bent a little bit as long as these guys haven't been sick or anything."

"We haven't," little Justice smiled.

"I bet Adler's happy you're here," Addison told them.

"Doctor?" Cohen Jones asked.

"Yes?"

"When does he go home?"

"Not yet, Buddy." Gavin answered.

"Soon?"

"I'll tell you what," Arizona said. "I promise you that as soon as he's ready, I'll make sure I let your mommy and daddy know right away."

"Okay," he agreed.

"Grandma put more stuff in Adler's room today," Justice shared.

The Jones' had found preparing for Adler particularly tough. They didn't want to have a house full of baby stuff to get rid of if he never got to use any of it, so they had only completed the bare minimum of required baby preparations before he arrived. Now that they were fairly sure that he would be coming home, they had asked family members to help them make his nursery a little more inviting for him.

"Like what?" Genevieve asked.

She honestly didn't have a clue what any of it looked like. Family and friends had offered to send her pictures and let her choose what they did before they did it, but she really just wanted to focus on her son. Whatever they did to his room would be done with love and it would be perfect for him.

"She put letters in his room that say 'Adler,'" he described. "Adler is A-D-L-E-R."

"It is," she nodded. "Right."

"And Justice is J-U-S-T-I-C and a E," he added. "And Cohen is C-O-H-E-N."

"Yes," Gavin smiled.

"Do you got kids?" Justice asked the doctors.

"We do," Addison smiled. "I have Henry and she has Sofia and Faith."

"Oh," he replied. "I don't know the letters to those."

Arizona laughed.

"That's okay," she said. "You just enjoy your new brother. Can I check on his heart, please?"

"Yep," he nodded.

* * *

"You would think I would stop getting that feeling at some point," Addison laughed as she and Arizona got out of the car that night. "I see cute babies every single day. I have friends with kids younger than mine. You'd think that would be enough. Yet, every time I get to hold a cute baby, the baby fever comes right back. I don't actually _want_ another one, but oh my God!"

"For years, I didn't want kids," Arizona said as they walked up the driveway. "I was fine with holding baby after baby at work and not feeling that. Then we had Sofia and then Faith and now, yeah. I find myself going 'maybe _just _one more.' I sit there and rationalize that if Calliope carried the baby it probably wouldn't have H.L.H.S. and we could prevent prematurity. There wasn't an actual maternal factor that makes it a huge risk factor for her. It was because of the accident."

"Right."

"Sometimes I sit there and wonder what taking care of a typical newborn is like as a parent," she said. "When the biggest worry that there is is how many times they've pooped so far."

Addison laughed.

"Great reason to have another one."

"Oh, we're not," she said as she put the key in the door. "I just –"

"Surprise!"

The two women hadn't been paying attention to anything but their conversation. Gathered inside Callie and Arizona's front entrance were many of their friends and coworkers. Callie had arranged a surprise party to celebrate the success that they had had with Adler. In order for the plan to work, Addison and Arizona had to be the last ones there with him that night. This meant that Dr. Brady and Teddy already knew about their own surprise party, but that was okay.

"What is this?" Arizona asked.

"I know you hate surprise parties," her wife said. "But I also knew that you weren't going to let me plan anything worthy of what this deserves. Don't hate me. It's not a birthday party. I checked with one of Adler's nurse's just a few minutes ago, so I know that he's fine and you should be happy. I know I didn't wait until Addison was leaving either, but really, there's more of a surprise for Addison than there is for you."

"What?" Addison questioned. "What do you mean?"

Then, as she scanned the room, she realized that her husband and son were standing there.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked, scooping Henry up into her arms even though he always told her that she was no longer allowed to do that because it wasn't "cool" anymore.

"This mornin' Daddy said I was goin' to Seattle instead of school!"

Jake figured that it would be okay for Henry to miss a few days of school. He wasn't absent very often and he never really had trouble in any of his subjects.

"How long have you had this planned?" she wondered as Jake gave her a kiss.

"Since the day the patient was born," he smiled. "And I just didn't tell Henry because he can't keep a secret."

"I can!" he insisted.

"Did you tell Lucas what he's getting for his birthday even though Auntie Vi said not to?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"My point exactly," he smiled. "Plus, surprising you was just as good as surprising your mom. Oh, and I'm supposed to tell you that everyone from back home wanted to come, but then nobody would be running the practice."

She laughed.

"How long are we staying now?"

"We're still going home the day after tomorrow," he said. "We just had to be here for this."

"Did we surprise you, Mom?" Sofia asked.

"You did!" Arizona smiled.

"Are you mad?"

"No," she said. "I'm not."

Faith walked up when she saw that her sister was getting mommy's attention first. Her face and hands were covered in multi-coloured icing which was also all over her pretty blue dress.

"I take it there's cake?" she asked her.

"Chocolate!" she smiled. "But gotta eat dinner."

"But you have to eat dinner, too. Correct. Why did you get cake first?"

"She may have helped herself," Teddy explained. "With her hands."

Faith giggled.

* * *

Everyone had a great dinner and had a lot of fun celebrating with the kids. It was amazing how fast Zola, Sofia, Henry, Maxwell, and Faith could come together to destroy party décor as they played, but they had done a wonderful job of it. Now that they were all hanging out in Sofia's room with an adult just checking on them every once and awhile, everyone else could hear themselves talk.

"I'm sorry," Addison said. "I think Henry was the mastermind behind all of this."

"Oh, like Max was innocent?" Mark laughed.

"It's no big deal," Callie said. "Faith was the one who stuck her whole hand into the cake before Arizona and Addison even saw it."

"This might be how I deal with feeling like baby number three might not have some life threatening thing happen," Arizona said. "I invite extra children over and this occurs. Then I realize that the two I have might be enough trouble."

"Yeah," Callie said. "We could hear that whole conversation and I was getting a little nervous."

"Oh, we're done."

Derek came into the kitchen.

"Where are Austin and Teddy?" he asked. "I thought they were with the kids, but they aren't."

"I heard something about Joe's," Alex said.

"They ditched their own party?" Callie asked.

"Together apparently," Arizona smiled. "Did anybody else not see that coming?"

"You think they're together?" Lexie asked. "Secretly?"

"We've seen _a lot_ of each other lately," Arizona said. "It wouldn't surprise me. Teddy's great, Austin's great, why wouldn't they like each other?"

"Well, the trial worked out in more ways than one," Callie smiled, raising her glass. "Cheers to Arizona , Addison, –"

"No," Arizona corrected her. "Cheers to Faith, and Sofia, and Calliope, and Michael, and Sebastian, and Valentina, and Madden and..."

Arizona went on to list the names of every single person who had inspired her to see this trial through in one way or another. This wasn't about her. This wasn't just about Faith. This wasn't even just about Adler. It was about everyone who had stood behind her through any of it. Michael may not have had the condition, and Sebastian may not have been a part of the trial, but that didn't matter. By the time she was finished, many of the people in the room – plus quite a few who weren't present – had been mentioned.

"Well said," Callie smiled. "How do you do it, Arizona Robbins?"

"Do what?"

"Always have the right thing to say."

"Always?"

"Always."


	55. Replacement Frustrations

**Good news! There is still limited Little Faith left, but this story is going to be a little longer than I thought. I wrote a chapter and it didn't work, so I'm breaking it up. Enjoy! **

**Also, I am going to get all of the other chapters written before I post anything else. So, if there is a delay, that's why. It will be worth it, I hope  
**

* * *

"Sofia, can you go see if your sister is up, please?"

Faith had begun insisting that she try to get herself dressed each morning. Sometimes her clothing was on backwards or inside out when she came to the breakfast table, but they still wanted to let her try. Somehow her fourth birthday was fast approaching and they wanted her to be practicing these skills now.

However, giving Faith this independence was risky. She almost always climbed back into her bed and hid underneath the covers instead of doing what she was supposed to. Therefore, she seemed to need two or three wake-up calls.

"Okay," she said.

"If she's in bed, tell her to get out, but be nice," Callie said. "Don't be rough."

"Fine," she replied as she headed up the stairs with their dog following behind her.

Arizona came into the kitchen with her phone in one hand and a pad of paper in the other. She crossed off yet another name from her list.

Callie kissed her. By now, she was used to supporting Arizona through all things clinical trial related. She had been there through the losses and she had helped to celebrate the win. Now came the frustration of not being able to continue the work that they had finally figured out how to do.

"Welcome back to motherhood," she said. "Can you put the phone down for just an hour? Please? Just until the kids are dressed with their hair done and we finally get them fed?"

"So far everyone has said no," she told her. "We don't have a fetal surgeon. I'm _this_ close to having Addison train me."

"You're not a fetal surgeon," she said. "That wouldn't be good."

"I know. But six people have said no. No one's ever going to say yes."

"Ever?"

"Not if Hunt keeps saying that he can't offer them a full contract. I respect him, I do, but how am I ever going to recruit someone if they're not making a decent salary? I know that it's my trial and I'm lucky that we even got to bring Addison on, but..."

"I thought nobody ever said no to the tiny humans."

"They do when there's nothing in it for them," she said. "Addison just gave me a few more names."

"Good."

"Where are the girls?"

"I sent Sof to wake Faith up."

* * *

The big sister had told her little sister to get up, but that hadn't worked very well. Now, knowing how much her sister liked to cuddle, Sofia was in Faith's bed. She was trying something else.

"You have to get up," she told her.

"No," Faith replied. "Go away."

"Really. Madre said."

"Go away."

"What are you going to be for Halloween?" she asked.

"Go away."

"That's not nice," she said. "I think I want to be a pretty zombie."

Some of the boys in Sofia's third grade class had been telling her all about their Halloween costume choices for the year. Fake blood seemed to be a hit with them, and she was starting to want to impress certain young gentlemen in her grade. To her, most boys were still gross, but there were a few who she thought were fun. Therefore, the usual sweet and innocent Halloween costumes were not going to work this year. Still, she wasn't willing to dive right into the "scary" costume choices. She had come up with this "pretty zombie" idea to meet somewhere in the middle.

Faith looked over at her sister. "No," she simply replied to this silly idea.

"Yep."

Arizona came up.

"It started with one kid in the bed, and now there are two kids in the bed."

"I'm being cuddly," Sofia said. "Faith likes cuddles."

"We don't have time for cuddles," she replied. "You've stalled for long enough, Faith Evelyn. Come on."

As Sofia got out of the bed, Mommy picked Faith right up and placed her down. She yawned, rubbed her eyes, and laid down on the floor.

"Stand up, please," Arizona said. "It's time to get dressed."

"Can you give me a braid?" Sofia asked.

"I can," she nodded. "Just let me make sure Faith's going to stay awake first."

"Okay," she said. "For Halloween, can I be a pretty zombie?"

"What's that?"

"A zombie that still looks like a girl," she said.

"What happened to the kid who wanted to be a princess or a ballerina?"

Sofia rolled her eyes. "Mom, those aren't cool now."

"Oh, you have to be 'cool?'" she asked.

"Porter likes zombies," she explained.

"Who is this Porter boy?"

"He's so smart and he's not annoying like other boys," she replied.

"Does somebody have a crush?" she smiled.

"No!" she denied. "But can I be a pretty zombie?"

"If we can figure out what that is."

* * *

Teddy and Dr. Brady were also busy trying to find a replacement for Addison. So far, they hadn't had much luck either. They now had three more surgeries scheduled for next month and no one to perform them.

"Owen wants us to train someone who's already on staff," Teddy told Arizona as soon as she walked into the conference room.

"Nobody we have is as good as Addison, though," she pointed out. "They're good, but not that good."

"We know," Dr. Brady replied. "We probably should have had somebody lined up before Montgomery left."

"Before that we didn't have a successful trial," Teddy said. "We couldn't line anyone up when nothing worked."

He stood up and began to gather his things. Unlike the other two, he had another practice, so he could only commit so much of his time to them.

"You have to go already?" she asked.

"I have a patient coming in at ten," he told her.

"And I have a surgery in twenty minutes," Teddy added, giving her boyfriend a kiss since they were officially dating out in the open now.

"I hate you both!" Arizona called out as they left.

Of course she didn't mean this. In fact, they were two of her favourite doctors. She was just not sure that they were ever going to find someone to replace Addison.

"Liar!" Teddy replied. "I'll be back."

"Thank you!"

Arizona sat down in the middle of the stacks of paperwork. On one side were the files of the patients who they were supposed to operate on, and on the other was information on all of the possible replacements for Addison that Seattle Grace Mercy West had to offer. Dr. Brady had ruled out almost all of them.

Mark came into the room a few minutes later.

"I've been told I'm supposed to come in here and help you find a fetal surgeon," he said as he handed her a coffee.

"Who told you that?"

"Your wife," he said. "And my wife agreed. Apparently, I'm charming."

"Yeah," she replied. "Well, for one, you're a Plastic surgeon and it makes no sense for you to be calling up fetal surgeons, and apparently we have to settle for someone here."

"Nobody here is as good as Addison, though. They're good, but..."

"My point exactly," she nodded. "Does that charm of yours still work on Addison?"

He laughed. "Not so much. I'm happily married and so is she. Hunt really won't let you hire anyone?"

"Would you if you already had a full staff?"

"Good point."

Callie walked in. She had sent their best friend to cheer Arizona up because she had a surgery, but it had just gotten pushed back. Now she had time. Plus, she had just heard the latest development from Teddy.

"Maybe if you find one person," she said. "Tell them you don't know how much Hunt's willing to pay. Just tell them that that'll be worked out after you meet them. Then, once you know they're the best one, pitch them to Hunt. If you have one person in mind, he might be more likely to give in if he sees what they have to offer. Right now, there's this hypothetical person being pitched to him."

"I have authority issues," she said.

"She'll cry in front of Hunt _and _her best candidate," Mark realized. "Nobody wants that."

"You're not helping," Callie told him.

"I thought I was charming?"

"Speaking of that, Sofia informed me this morning that she'd like to be a 'pretty zombie' because of some boy in her class," Arizona responded.

"What's a pretty zombie?" Callie questioned.

"All I heard was the 'boy' part," Mark replied. "She's eight! She's still a baby."

"And I'm sure you had your first crush at seventeen," Arizona laughed.

"If Sofia asks, that is absolutely correct."

Callie knew that her wife was just trying to change the subject. Her authority issues were already getting the best of her and that wasn't allowed here. She had come this far. The whole family had made plenty of sacrifices. She wasn't about to let the trial fall apart. She just had to convince Arizona that this was what had to happen.

"How's Adler?"

"He'll probably go home next week. He's doing well. Why?" she asked.

"Do you want to be the doctor whose trial saved one baby or thousands of babies?"

"You're right," she realized. "But I don't like going against orders from the chief!"

"All you're doing right now is making phone calls."

Lexie came in. All she knew was that Mark had been told to help Arizona. She didn't know that Hunt didn't even want the trial team looking elsewhere anymore.

"Anything?" she asked.

"I'm overcoming authority issues," she replied.

"What?" she asked. "When I was a resident, I remember reading an article about a Dr. Nerissa Kaye. Some were saying that she was the next Addison Montgomery. She was just a resident at the time, but..."

"Is she from New York?" Mark questioned.

"Yeah, why?"

"Now that you mention it, Addison's worked with her."

"Then why isn't she on my list of names?" Arizona wondered. "Is Addison holding out on me?"

* * *

"Faith wants to be Little Bo Peep for Halloween, I think," Sofia told Callie at dinner that night. "She keeps telling me to read her that one in the nursery rhyme book."

"I think you'd make a good Little Bo Peep," Callie told the preschooler.

"I need sheeps," Faith said. "Bo Peep got sheeps."

"We'll get you some stuffed animal sheep," Madre promised. "We'll have a pretty zombie and Little Bo Peep. What a pair."

"And what's Max being?"

"I don't know."

"Oh."

Arizona returned to the table. She had been on the phone the entire time so far. First she had been talking to Addison about Nerissa, and then she had actually called her herself. It turned out that Nerissa had taken some time off after she had experienced the death of a young family member. She just hadn't been able to handle what she did for a living at the time. That was why Addison hadn't mentioned her.

"I got her to agree to meet with us," Arizona said. "Well, we're going to do a conference call tomorrow. She might be interested. She took a year off, but..."

"Good," Callie said.

"Is she fun like Addie?" Sofia wondered.

"'Fun' doesn't really matter here, Sofia," Mommy laughed.

"Fun always matters."

"I just want somebody who Addison can train to be as good as she is."

"We should just move to L.A. and you could make L.A. babies better."

"Never going to happen, Sof," Callie replied.

"Why not?"

"I just hope Owen doesn't refuse to hire her if she's the right person," Arizona said. "Then we're wasting our time and hers."

"I know," Callie agreed. "But you have to make him see that you have no other choice."


	56. All Kinds Of Happiness

"I don't know, Adler," Genevieve smiled the next afternoon.

She was holding up the onesie that her middle son had chosen for his little brother to wear home from the hospital. Even though Adler wasn't quite ready for this milestone just yet, Cohen had insisted that the family start the Halloween fun early when he suggested that the "My Little Pumpkin" piece be the baby's homecoming outfit. Halloween still wouldn't for several weeks, and Mommy highly doubted that the little guy would fit into it now.

"Maybe we'll bring you home in it, and then change you into something else. That way Cohen's happy, but you'll be a little more comfortable, too."

Arizona walked in just then. Adler was doing well considering all things, but he was still being monitored very closely. If they could help it, nothing would set the baby back at this point. Of course, he was still very ill, but they were doing everything they possibly could to help him beat the odds.

"How's he been for the last couple of hours?" she asked as she checked the chart.

"Asleep," she replied. "He just woke up."

"Good," she said. "So he hasn't had a bottle since the last time Dr. Altman was in here?"

"No."

"Okay. Hopefully he gets hungry soon now that he's awake. His weight gain's been a bit slow. It's not a major concern, but the meds. he's on tend to affect appetite and we need to watch that."

"Okay," she said.

"Where's Daddy, Adler?" she asked.

Gavin had been there earlier, but he was missing now. Of course, this wasn't a big deal. The baby had been in the hospital for quite some time and breaks were needed sometimes, but she cared about the whole family. She couldn't help it. After what their family had been through, she sympathised with them.

"He decided that he and the big boys needed a boys' afternoon," she explained. "And once I'm ready to leave Adler when he's home, we already have plans for me and the other two to do something fun."

"Good."

"How did you manage this so many times? I know this won't be Adler's last hospital stay, but it's beyond impossible to stay sane. My oldest two miss us, but Adler needs us here just as much."

Genevieve tried not to ask too many of these kinds of questions. She didn't want Arizona to cross any boundaries between doctor and friend. However, she was also a great resource for some much needed advice.

"Well, Sofia has a dad and a step-mom," she explained. "So they made it so much easier. It was still tough because we missed her so much, but we didn't feel quite as guilty. She was with a parent the whole time, so that was good. Other than that, lots and lots of phone calls and visits. Just like you're doing."

"I think Justice thinks his brother will be totally fine once he comes home."

"Sofia was like that for a while, too," she said. "She asked us when Faith would be able to stop taking her medicine. We just kept reminding her that Faith needed it."

"I'm dreading Adler being old enough to try and refuse," she said. "Obviously I know we'll be lucky to have him and I wouldn't trade that for anything, but I'll feel like I'm torturing my kid every single day."

"Faith got used to it," she said. "She rarely fusses about it and we make a big deal about it when she just cooperates, but the feeling bad doesn't really stop."

"I didn't think so."

Adler started crying as Arizona did a quick exam.

"Oh, I know!" she replied. "I'm so sorry!"

"Dr. Robbins doesn't want you to be sad," the mom told her son after Arizona was finished. "If you're sad, you'll make her sad. It's okay! It's all done."

"I'm actually very, very happy," Arizona smiled. "You're doing great today and we might have found a new surgeon."

"You think?"

"We had a conference call with one today and she seems great. So great that our chief reluctantly agreed to meet her in person. He said he'd still rather not hire anyone, but even he couldn't deny that meeting her was a good idea."

"Good," she smiled. "I know it has nothing to do with Adler, but good."

"Yeah."

* * *

"What if Addison came and ran a series of skills labs?" Owen asked. "We could work on getting our doctors up to the level that they need to be."

"As good as Addison Montgomery?" she laughed. "Chief Hunt, we have some very talented fetal surgeons here. We do. I know that. They're just not as talented. Dr. Kaye is. Addison said so herself and she's not going to come to give our doctors training that Dr. Kaye already has. She would need less training. Meet with her. Please. This is me literally begging. On behalf of tiny babies who want hope."

Callie walked up as Owen was realizing that Arizona just might have been right. He would try to have an open mind about Nerissa Kaye. He didn't know how he could afford to hire her, but he was sure that Doctors Robbins and Altman had a few suggestions. Plus, if she really was as good as all of the talk about her was, then she could do a lot of good for the hospital and make paying her worth every cent.

"She is extremely stubborn," he told Callie.

"I know," she replied. "Trust me, I know."

"You look happy," Arizona smiled as she gave her wife a kiss when their chief walked away.

"I just asked Mark and Lexie if they'd take Faith overnight on Friday," Callie told her. "We get a whole night to ourselves. You're not working, right?"

"No, but..."

"Teddy and Brady can handle anything with Adler," she said. "Between Faith and this trial, our lives have been filled with H.L.H.S. I wouldn't trade Faith for the world and I think you're amazing for being so dedicated to the trial, but now that you think things might work out with Nerissa, I want dates again. Tuck away the fabulous surgeon part of you and just let me treat you to a fabulous night."

She smiled. She did feel bad for being so committed to the trial. Callie had picked up a lot of the slack at home. This was the least that she could do for her. Plus, it wasn't like a night with her gorgeous wife was going to be tough or anything.

"Okay," she smiled. "But are you sure Mark and Lexie are okay with that?"

"They said so," she nodded. "It'll be fun for the kids, too."

"Good," she said. "And hey, we won't have to give meds. on Saturday morning. Somebody else can feel bad about it for once."

"She'll take them for them, right? I mean, it's Mark and Lexie. She likes them."

"I think she'll test them a bit more to see what she can get away with, but she'll eventually realize that she doesn't have a choice."

"Yeah."

"And sometimes Sofia can talk her into taking them. That'll help."

* * *

On Friday, Faith joined her sister at the table. Callie and Arizona knew all too well that no homework would get done with Faith at Mark's and that – even after that – Sofia wasn't likely to want to do it later into the weekend. They wanted her to get it over with before the girls even headed over to Mark's.

"Mom, my bonus word of the week for my spelling is Arizona," the third grader told her.

"That is mama," Faith said.

"It is," the blonde nodded. "Right."

"How do you spell it, Sofia?" Callie asked.

"A-R-I-Z-O-N-A," she answered in a sing-song sort of way.

"A-R-I-Z-O-N-A," Faith mimicked.

"You just spelled the bonus word," Sofia said, giving her a high five. "You're as smart as me."

Faith flipped open her own little workbook. She had always been interested in what went on while homework was getting done and her moms had finally decided to include her in this time instead of trying to keep her away. She was getting to an age where they could give her a task and let her work at it; when she chose to join in on the homework time, she had a preschool workbook that they had bought her to work on. It made her feel like a big girl and it helped both girls to be able to learn in peace.

"What are you working on today?" Callie asked her.

"Letters," she told her.

"The letter P," Arizona said as she put her earring in.

"Mom, you look pretty for your date," Sofia said.

"Thanks," she smiled. "Is spelling the only homework you have?"

"Yep. I just gotta finish my sentences with the words."

"What sound does P make?" Callie asked as Faith began to trace the letters in her workbook the best that she could.

"Buh," she said.

"Nope," she replied. "Puh! Puh for P. Like puppy."

"And play," Sofia added. "And princesses."

"You focus on your work and let Faith do hers," Arizona said.

"Okay. Then we go to Daddy's?"

"Yes," Callie said.

* * *

She and Arizona had the most relaxing night that they had had in a long time. The girls had had to call to say goodnight, but other than that they didn't receive a single phone call or anything. They went out to dinner and came home to spend the rest of the night in the bath before bed.

However, they were at Mark's door by ten in the morning the next morning. None of them had to go into work until noon, but they weren't used to waking up without at least one child in the house and it felt weird.

"Hi!" Sofia smiled. "Faith likes sleepovers at my other house."

"You do, huh?" Callie asked.

"Mark have pudding," the preschooler said.

"Chocolate pudding?"

"Yep," she nodded.

They had had a movie night while Mommy and Madre were off on their own date. Maxwell had chosen the movie, which Faith hadn't been too crazy about, but the chocolate pudding and peanut butter sandwiches more than made up for it.

"This kid polished off a sandwich and a half, plus a pudding cup," Mark said. "I've never heard you mention that she eats that well now."

"It's not usually that well," Arizona explained. "But good."

"Lex?" Faith asked.

"Yes?"

"More pudding?" she questioned.

Arizona gave her a kiss as she picked her up out of the chair and let her down.

"We're going home," she told her. "And it's the morning. We don't eat pudding in the morning."

"I have yuckies," she tried to compromise.

"I know you took medicine," she laughed. "But that doesn't mean you get pudding."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

Arizona's phone rang. She didn't even have to answer it to know what was up. It was Nerissa calling. She had probably just made it in to her hotel room.

"I love this weekend," she said.

"Nerissa's here?" Callie asked.

"And hopefully ready to prepare for her meeting with Owen first thing Monday," she said as she answered. "Hello?"

"It was fun while it lasted," Callie commented.

"You'll just get to look gorgeous next to her when she wins a Harper Avery," Lexie said.

"Oh, I'm already thinking about what dress I'd liked to wear to celebrate," Callie admitted. "I'm thinking something red."

"What's a Harper Avery?" Sofia asked.

"An award."

"Mommy's getting an award?!"

"We don't know yet," Callie said. "Madre's getting ahead of herself."

"Oh."

"But Mommy's worked really hard, right?"

"Yeah," she said. "And an award would be cool."


	57. More Progress

**There is only _one_****more "Against All Odds" chapter left after this one! Enjoy. Thank you for all of the reviews.  
**

* * *

"Are you excited for your party?" Arizona asked Faith one night in the very end of November.

Faith's fourth birthday was fast approaching. This year they had really let her help plan the whole thing, which had only built up the anticipation for the day even more. She knew what to expect and she couldn't wait. In fact, some of the décor was already on display in their living room.

"I'm four," she nodded.

"Yep," Callie agreed.

"Not just yet," Arizona said. "Can you be three for five more days?"

"No," the little girl refused.

"Please?" Callie requested. "Four year olds seem so much bigger than three year olds and we need a little kid for as long as we can have one."

"Nope," she giggled.

"What do you want for your birthday?" Arizona questioned.

"Umm...dances, cake, and kisses."

"Dancing, cake, and kisses?" Callie smiled. "I think those can be arranged."

"And monies," she added.

"And money?" Arizona laughed. "What? Do you need to fill up that piggy bank?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Money, please?"

"Maybe we can give you four dollars," Callie suggested. "You'll be four. I think that's fair."

"What do you want to buy with your money?" Arizona wondered.

They didn't know where Faith was getting her ideas lately – most likely from her friends at preschool and her older sister – but she had been saying some pretty hilarious things. In fact, just yesterday she had tried to convince them that she was going to marry Hershey when she grew up. When they told her that they didn't think Hershey was looking for a wife, she decided to try and fill up the family pet's food bowl all on her own in hopes of winning her affection.

"A kitty," she said.

"Oh, you're over Hershey?"

"Kitties are pretty," she said. "And not dogs."

"Very true," Callie agreed. "What else is on this birthday wish list? I don't seem to recall wrapping up a kitty cat. Maybe you can aim lower."

"Or a baby!" she decided.

"A baby doll?" Callie asked. "Please say a baby doll."

"No."

Arizona kissed the top of her head.

"You're outta luck, kiddo," she told her. "Two babies are enough for us."

"They look cute," she told her.

"They do," she said. "But they're a lot of work."

"Like all that poop?" she asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "We'll go with that. The poop is too much."

"Ew."

"I'm glad you agree," Callie said. "No babies is good, right?"

"No poop is good."

"Are you ready for bed yet?" Arizona asked.

"No," she yawned.

"Let's go lay down, please."

* * *

The next day, Sofia was looking at the pictures that her mother had posted up where she kept all of her belongings in the Attendings' lounge. Of course, as any proud mother would, she had family photos. She also had a picture of Michael – the little boy whose full story the eight-year-old was just now starting to understand – right with them. Still, there were a few of a baby that Sofia didn't recognize. Her mom had just added one of these to the collection.

"Who's that baby?" she asked.

"Adler," she answered. "He's the baby who we helped. He has a heart like Faith's old one and we helped make it a little bit better."

"He didn't get a new one?"

"Nope," she said. "Where is your madre?"

Sofia had a day off of school and they were using it to give each of them alone time with their older daughter. Arizona had spent the morning with her, and now it was about to be Callie's turn to take her out for an afternoon of fun. They were just waiting for her to finish up with a few of her patients.

"She's busy," Sofia said while still admiring the latest picture of Adler that the Jones' had sent Arizona. "Why didn't you fix Faith's other heart?"

Sofia made it seem so simple. Clearly she didn't understand that it wasn't, but this question was still hard for Arizona to hear. She wished that they would have been able to spare Faith at least a few of the procedures and hospital stays that she had had to endure. Part of her did feel like their discovery had come too late. It had come, but only after so many children had gone through so much additional pain and some had even died.

"We didn't know how then."

Just then, before this conversation could continue, Callie walked in.

"Hi," she said as she gave each of them a kiss. "How was your morning?"

"Good," Sofia said. "We went to the movies and then we went shoppin' because I need new gym shoes and Faith's growing' like a weed Mom said. I helped pick some cool stuff for her. And her birthday present, too."

"Sounds good. You ready for some lunch?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Can we get pizza?"

"I guess."

"Genevieve and Gavin sent me another picture of Adler," Arizona told her wife.

The little boy had been home for a while now, but his mom and dad still sent the doctors monthly photos of him. He had had a few setbacks, but things were going well for the moment.

"He's so cute," Callie smiled. "If I were them, I'd never even put him down."

"Well, he has H.L.H.S.," she said. "They've had some of the same issues we did. Sometimes they don't get to put him down even if they want to."

"True."

"I'm hungry," Sofia said.

"Let's go get some pizza," her madre offered.

"Bye ladies," Arizona smiled as they all left the lounge, but her wife and daughter headed in the opposite direction.

"You're a hit," she heard a voice say as she watched them walk off.

She turned her head to see her newest colleague standing there with yet another stack of files for potential patients in her arms. After they had worked so hard at finally convincing Owen to hire her, Nerissa Kaye had completed training and been added to the staff last month. They had been busy ever since. On top of her regular case load, Arizona was now almost always treating at least one baby who was post-op from their first procedure.

"More?" she asked. "What? Is there a rise in the number of H.L.H.S. cases going on? Maybe we need to look into that instead."

"You want two fancy trials?" she asked. "What? One Harper Avery isn't enough for you?"

"I don't have one."

"You're being considered," she said. "Don't be so humble. And no. Some of these cases aren't going to be operable. There's a set of twins here. Only one has it, but still. At this point, going in with two babies is just too much."

"Yeah, but let me take a look. I can still do the typical treatment when the baby's born."

"I bet you're glad you had the morning off," she commented. "Since you'll be up to your ears in these for a good part of the day now."

"I know."

"I don't know how you do this with a family at home," she admitted. "I have a cat and I'm pretty sure even she feels neglected."

"It helps that Sofia has extra parents to help out," she said as they walked down the hall. "And if not for Faith, I wouldn't be doing this."

"Speaking of Sofia, I still can't get over the fact that Mark Sloan has kids," she said. "He's actually a family man. Who would've thought?"

"Are you two giving me crap again?" Mark joked as he happened to be walking by. "I've been happily married for almost a decade and nobody can let the manwhore thing go, can they?"

"Almost six years is not exactly a decade," Arizona pointed out.

"So I rounded up," he admitted. "Still."

"This is still a whole new Mark to me," Nerissa said. "I get to give you a hard time for just a little bit longer."

"Maybe you should be a little more focused on your work," he replied.

"How many Harper Averys are you being considered for?" Arizona inquired.

"I work too closely with his grandson. That wouldn't be fair."

"That's why," Arizona laughed.

"What does Faith want for her birthday?" Mark asked. "We haven't gotten her a gift yet."

"Last night she asked for money and an infant," Arizona said. "But a cute stuffed animal will do. Cats seem to be a hit."

"She's still turning four, right?" he laughed.

"I think we're going to go with her turning three plus one instead," Arizona decided. "It helps."

* * *

Arizona had made it through the piles and piles of paperwork as well as checking on each one of her patients. Her latest hypoplastic left heart syndrome patient had taken a turn for the worst, but he was still holding on and she hadn't given up.

"No," she argued with one of the interns. "A transplant is a last resort and we're not there yet."

"But –"

"She knows what she's talking about," someone else said.

The blonde looked over and noticed that Wren and Sebastian were both standing there. Sebastian had a few little action figures in his hands as he looked up at her with nervous eyes.

"We're not here for you," Wren promised him.

"Why are you here?" Arizona questioned.

"I finally managed to convince my husband that Sebastian's always going to be an only child," she started to explain.

"What is this with all the talk of more babies?" she asked.

"Your wife wants more too? Since when?"

"Not my wife," she said. "Faith."

"Interesting," she replied. "Anyway, I finally made him realize that there could be a difference between wanting another one and loving the idea of having a healthy kid."

"Well said," Dr. Robbins agreed. "I'd love to know what a healthy baby is like, but I'm not so excited about three kids. The fantasy seems good. It does. But it seems better than actually having three kids sounds. Calliope and I put that one to rest a long, long time ago."

"So no."

"Exactly."

"Fairytales don't happen, but H.L.H.S. has," Wren said. "So, we're finally converting the other bedroom into an office. My sweet husband wanted to give Seb his own little desk. Next thing I know, my sweet husband is nearly missing a finger. Your head of Plastics is currently working on him. We thought we'd come up and say hi instead of watching that."

"Ouch," she replied.

"And Dr. Brady keeps telling me all about all of these babies you're saving these days," she added. "And something about an award."

"I'm being considered," she said. "It's so annoying."

"Oh, yeah."

"No, really. I don't want the award. It's not why I'm doing any of this. I don't need the praise. I just need ways to save these babies."

"Well, Genevieve Jones thinks you're amazing," she said. "And so do I."

"You've met her?"

"She joined our support group," she said. "Which you should join too. It's for parents of kids with any kind of cardiac –"

"I know," she said. "But if I'm not here, I want to be with my kids. Not at some meeting discussing more sick children."

"You have a point. For you, it would probably just make you feel like you have that much more work to do."

"Basically."


	58. Look How Far We've Come

**Here it is! This is last chapter of "Against All Odds." Thank you so, so much for loving Faith Evelyn and this family as much as I do. It means a lot. I've said it many times, but you are wonderful. I honestly almost didn't ever post this story because I didn't think anyone would really like it. I'm happy to admit that you have proven me wrong.**

* * *

"I'm too big to go to a little baby's birthday," Sofia protested months later.

Dr. Robbins and her family had all been invited to Adler Jones' first birthday party. While she was technically still considered his doctor, she hadn't operated on him in months. Therefore, she decided that it wouldn't be a big deal if they just stopped by for a few minutes. It was no secret that the two families had a bond. They couldn't exactly help it. Arizona certainly wanted to help celebrate the miracle baby's birthday.

Sofia, who was now nine, wasn't too crazy about the idea. Instead, she wanted to spend the day with her friends Zola and Paisley. She was making no secret of this fact. She was only nine, but sometimes she seemed so much older these days.

"I already told you that you don't have to," Callie told her as she made pancakes. "You can go to Zola's house for a few hours, but then we're picking you up because we want to go to the movies together. Your mom and I both have a Saturday off and we're having a family day."

"Which movie are we going to?" she asked.

"It's your turn to pick, but you have to pick something that's not too mature for Faith."

Mark had recently made the mistake of letting Sofia watch a scary movie. When her other three parents heard about this, they figured that it would have terrified her, but she wanted more instead. Every now and then they allowed this, but most of the movies she watched still had to be good choices for her younger siblings as well.

"Maybe Faith should get more mature."

"She's just fine how she is," Callie laughed. "There's that one with the dogs. You both love dogs. Can we agree on that, please?"

"Okay."

Arizona came into the room. She had been on call all night the night before, so she and Faith had slept in later than Callie and Sofia had.

"Pancakes?" she asked. "Delicious."

"With blueberries," Sofia added. "They smell good, right?"

"They do."

"Faith Evelyn!" Callie called up the stairs. "Are you dressed yet?"

They were getting a late start to breakfast. By the time they ate, cleaned up, and dropped Sofia off at Meredith and Derek's, it would be just about the time that they needed to head to Adler's party. To no one's surprise, Faith was taking her sweet time starting the day.

"Oh, take it easy on her," Arizona said. "She's been sick."

The medications that their girl was on to help prevent her rejecting her new heart also lowered her immune system. This way, her body was less likely to try to fight the organ. However, it also made it more likely for her to catch numerous bugs as they went around.

"She's better now," Callie said.

"I know."

Faith came down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was wearing a pink dress that had become a favourite of hers. In fact, she would have been very well dressed if she didn't have it on backwards.

Arizona laughed.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"It's a backwards day, okay?" she told her.

Faith's latest fever had sent her home early during "backwards day" at school last week. She had gotten to see all of her friends in their backwards attire, but she still didn't like having to head home on a fun day. Callie had made a point of letting her put her pyjamas on backwards and everything, but she obviously still felt like she needed a make-up "backwards day."

"Well, how about tomorrow?" Madre compromised. "Today we're going to Adler's party and then we're having a special day. It's Robbins/Torres family day, not backwards day. Tomorrow can be backwards day, though."

"But I wanna wear this," she said.

"You can," Arizona replied. "Can we just turn it around before we leave?"

"No medicine?" she tried to bargain.

At just a few months shy of her fifth birthday, she was too smart for her own good. As much as she didn't like it, she knew full well that she didn't have a choice. She had to have her medication. Therefore, bringing it up could sometimes guilt her moms into letting her have her way in regards to something else.

Arizona looked over to Callie. They were on to their tiny girl, but would it really hurt to let her win this time? Faith was sort of right. She had to do what they wanted every day. Was a backwards dress the end of the world?

"We're a lesbian couple with kids," Callie said. "People are going to stare anyway."

"Excellent point," Arizona replied. "Okay, Faith. It's backwards day."

"Yay!"

"Why do people care if we've got more than one mom?" Sofia wondered.

"People have opinions and some people don't really think it's right for two moms or two dads to love each other or have a family," Callie explained.

"I don't like those people," she decided.

"Being rude to someone because they might be rude to you isn't good either," Arizona said. "It's okay. We know we're just the same as any other family."

"Yeah," she said. "Plus, I got two moms and a dad, and a step-mom. So they don't know nothing."

Callie laughed.

Arizona quickly took Faith's temperature. She hadn't had a fever for the past two days, so it would have been surprising if the symptom returned now, but she still wanted to check. They were planning to bring their little lady to a party where a few of the other children were also more likely to catch things. They didn't want her giving them whatever she had just had.

"Still no fever," she announced.

"I'm all better," Faith smiled.

"You are," she nodded. "Now we can go to Adler's birthday for sure."

* * *

Wren laughed when she saw Faith walk through the Jones' front door in her backwards attire. All of the other children were in adorable outfits just like hers, but they had their little outfits on correctly. Faith's unique style stood out, but she was clearly happy about this.

"She missed part of backwards day at school," Arizona explained.

"Did she catch that bug that's been going around?" she asked. "Sebastian was out of commission for a good week."

"Alex told me that he just had his meds. adjusted again," she replied. "That could have been part of it too."

"Yeah."

While Faith had luckily avoided the vast majority of complications as a result of her transplant, Sebastian hadn't been as lucky. He hadn't done horribly, but he had been hospitalized three times in the past five months due to various issues. He had been able to keep his new heart, and he was currently doing well, but they wished that things could have been a little easier for him.

Genevieve came over with the birthday boy on her hip. When they sent Arizona the invitation, they weren't sure if she'd actually come, but she was excited to see them there.

"Adler, say 'hi,'" she told him.

He only waved, even though he did know the word. He was playing shy today. He had been like this with every guest who he had been told to greet so far.

"Happy birthday!" Arizona smiled. "How has it been a year, Adler?"

"Because you've been working like a dog ever since," Callie suggested.

Arizona had been busy while they were trying to perfect the trial procedures, but now that it had been a year and they had had many babies benefit from both phases of their plan, she was even busier. She now had to make a point of making sure that she did have days off, but there never seemed to be a simple day at work anymore.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"That's what happens when you win a Harper Avery," her wife added.

"And there it is," Arizona smiled. "I knew you'd bring it up."

"Why aren't you more proud?"

"I'm proud," she clarified. "But not of some award. I'm much more proud to see that Adler and other babies just like him get to have first birthdays and be doing so well. Faith wasn't doing quite this well at this point. That makes me proud. That we've been able to improve lives. Awards just come along with that."

"Well, we think you're more than deserving," Genevieve smiled. "Brag a little. Nobody here minds."

"We got you a present," Faith told Adler.

"You really didn't have to bring a gift," his mom said.

"It's just a few books," Arizona replied. "I know you probably got sick of most of his collection after reading them over and over in the hospital after his last procedure, so we thought we'd get some new ones."

"Thanks," she said.

"We won't stay too long. Faith's just getting over a bug, and we don't want to give it to everyone here."

"In that case, Faith why don't you go tell Gavin to give you a cupcake early?" Genevieve suggested.

"Okay!" she quickly replied.

"Pick one out for your sister, too."

"I will!" she promised as she took off towards the table with all of the food on it.

"Say 'please' and 'thank you!'" Callie called after her.

* * *

Adler began to warm up to his guests shortly after that. He started showing Callie a few of the toys that he had already been allowed to open that morning.

"This guy's fun," she commented as she picked up a stuffed animal dinosaur. "I don't get to play with these much. My girls were never into them."

"No?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Hey!" they heard Sebastian yell out.

The adults all looked over to see that Faith was teasing him with her cupcake. He was staying for the whole party, so he would get one later, but she was enjoying telling him that she got one first.

"Faith, don't be mean," Arizona said. "Finish your cupcake and then go play nicely. Stop rubbing it in."

Faith hugged the little boy. She was generally still her sweet self, but every now and then the big girl that she had become would pull something like that. Once she realized how her actions had affected others, she was usually quick to want to make up.

"That's more like it," Callie said. "But you both just got over being sick. Personal space would be good."

"Oh, he went back to preschool only to be coughed on by each of his friends," Wren said. "A hug isn't going to do much."

"True."

* * *

The rest of their day was great. They picked Sofia up from Meredith and Derek's, went to see the movie that Sofia had agreed to, and then took them to a play place that had age appropriate activities for both of their age groups. After that, the four of them went out for dinner. Upon returning home, both of the kids were exhausted. Sofia was actually supposed to change and go over to her dad's for a fun night over there as well, but it never happened.

"Sorry," Callie said when he arrived to pick her up and she was already in bed. "Apparently playing with Zola and then going to the play place is still tiring enough for her. We were there for a good three hours, so..."

"It's fine."

"She asked if she could watch some TV in our room, because Faith was watching something out here. Next thing I know, I go in there to tell her you're on your way and she's out. Faith ended up in there, too. Not surprisingly, she's also fast asleep."

"It's not a big deal," he replied. "There'll be other days. Let her sleep."

"If she wakes up soon, I'll bring her over."

"Okay," he agreed. "Honestly, I think Max would love to have both Lexie and I all to himself. We've kind of been on opposite shifts lately, so..."

"Yeah."

Mark noticed that Arizona had pictures spread out all over the coffee table. The pictures that they had taken today – as well as seeing a few photo books that Adler's grandmother had made for him – had inspired her and she was now trying to create scrapbooks for each of the girls. Callie wasn't sure when she'd have time, but she knew better than to bring that up. Both of the girls had always had photo albums, but they weren't very well organized. Understandably, this had been one of the things that they had had to let go of when Faith was so sick. They just didn't have the time or the energy for it.

"What is she doing?" Mark asked.

"She's decided that right now would be a great time to start working on their albums. So every picture we've ever taken from the last four and a half years is out."

"And our kids have horribly scary baby books," Arizona commented. "At the time, I didn't think much of taking these pictures. These were their stories. But you can barely even see Sofia in half of these and Faith's colouring was so bad. Most people have these precious little pictures and we have tubes and wires everywhere."

"We opted not to put Sofia's actual first picture in the frame that matches Max's," Mark agreed. "Obviously, we have them all, and I wouldn't have it any other way, but she's just a little too underdeveloped. It's not the cute picture that the frame's meant for. That's why her first picture at home is in there instead. It's a bit easier to see every day."

"Yeah."

"Sofia's seen her baby pictures, though," Callie said. "And she doesn't see them as scary. I don't really know for sure what Faith thinks of hers, but to Sofia they're just...her."

"I know," he said. "I'm going to get going. I guess I'll pick her up in the morning."

"Sure," Callie nodded.

As Mark left, Arizona picked up one of the photographs that they had taken that day. Faith had made it all the way to the top of the "big kid" climbing gym and she was so proud of herself. Of course, they had encouraged her to take her time so that the activity wasn't too, too strenuous, but she had eventually been able to do it.

"Calliope, this is the same kid who could hardly stay awake some days," she said. "I know she's out now, so this is probably a bad example, but she's climbing things just like any kid her age. In a dress, which isn't so lady-like, but hey. She had shorts underneath and she had a blast."

"I was secretly freaking out," Callie said. "I haven't completely gotten used to trusting her to show us when enough is enough in terms of her activity."

"But she was fine," Arizona replied. "If she would have rushed up there, maybe she wouldn't have been, but she took her time and it was okay. Do I think she'll be running marathons any time soon? No. But that was good."

"Clearly."

"I love that H.L.H.S. and having a transplant hasn't stopped her," Arizona smiled. "I know I'm her mom, so it's my job to me proud, but she's such a cool kid. Sofia too. If anyone would have told me that this is where they'd be when they were born, I'd laugh. This is not what I would have pictured."

"Me neither."

"But we're here," she smiled.

"We are," she said, giving her a kiss.

"What do you say we go cuddle with our babies in the bed?" she asked. "This can wait."

"Sounds good," she said. "How long do we get to call them 'babies' for though? Realistically."

"Forever. As long as we're their parents."

* * *

**Many of you have been asking me to either continue this story or to write a sequel to it. Let me explain my thought process to you.**

**This story was the story of how this family handled the tough times and came out on top. That part of it is over. Faith is doing well and Arizona has managed to make a difference for other children at the same time. That is why this story is ending now. There isn't enough left to say about Faith's childhood to make it worth your while.**

**However, there is certainly more to say about her life. You've trusted me along this journey with this family. Therefore, I'd be thrilled if you would continue reading when I post a sequel about what a different, yet equally important time looks like for them. The children will be grown, but some new flashbacks will be added in so that you will get to see a few highlights from the years in-between now and then (and maybe some that just didn't quite make it into here). **

**The sequel will be up in appropriately a week (give or take a few days). I was not ignoring any of you who asked for a second part to this story, but I just couldn't reveal the news too soon. I hope you're as excited as I am to see what else will happen for this family. **


End file.
